Like It or Not
by Jadee
Summary: A curse placed upon Raven at birth forces her to marry Beast Boy before her seventeenth birthday. Meanwhile, a plot to destroy the Teen Titans from the inside out is set into motion. Forget love, will any of the Titans even survive?
1. Not My Day

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Teen Titans.

**A.N.** Before reading this, please understand that a few little canon facts may be bent in order to facilitate this story. The vast majority of the fic, however, will be true to the Teen Titans animated series, and I promise not to pull anything particularly out there on you all. Just trust me, k?

Just a heads up so you know what to expect, this will be a chaptered story that contains at least some romance, drama, (hopefully) humor, and action. The 'T' rating might go up at some point, but I'll be sure to let you all know if I intend to do so. I hope that you enjoy this story, because I know it'll be fun to write!

Chapter one of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Not My Day"

"Raven, duck!" Robin yelled to the empathic Titan, just moments before a very hard mailbox connected with her not so hard skull.

Raven was slammed to the ground and driven back a few feet by the momentum of the impact before she came to a painful stop. Raven groaned and rubbed at the offended area on her skull. This was just not her day. Quickly summoning up her energy, Raven clutched her head as she allowed her healing powers to stop the bruising and get rid of any concussion that she suspected she had obtained.

All around her, the area was in chaos. Johnny Rancid had attempted to pick a fight with the Titans for no obvious reason other than to show off his gigantic, new, scrap metal iguana. Normally iguanas do not inspire a great deal of fear in people, but as this monster was at least thirty feet tall and had the ability to breathe fire, it was actually quite frightening.

Raven leaped up from the ground and nodded her thanks to Robin, who had been warding off the attacks in her general direction while she had recovered. He smiled, and then gave a determined yell as he ran at the iguana, faking left, moving right, and launching two birdarangs into the iguana's mouth. They found their mark at the back of the monster's throat and sliced through it like tissue paper before falling with a clank to the ground.

The reptile roared and spun around, grabbing for the vigilante who had thrown the weapons. After missing him a few times, the beast rapidly struck out with both front legs, catching Robin off guard and pinning him to the pavement. The iguana then easily picked up the boy with triumph and stood on its back legs, holding Robin over its mouth while preparing to barbeque him.

"Yo, fire for brains!" Cyborg called, "Chew on this!" With that, he sent a blue blast from his sonic cannon at the creature's arm that held Robin captive.

"Got him!" Beast Boy called as the monster shrieked in pain and dropped Robin, who began to plummet towards the pavement. Beast Boy rapidly shifted into a pterodactyl and grabbed his leader seconds before he hit the ground.

"Nice work, Beast Boy." Robin thanked him as they both landed safely, and Beast Boy beamed.

Starfire let out a victorious yell as she shot bright green starbolts at the iguana, and Raven quickly summoned up her powers, throwing a parked car into its stomach. Seeing the vehicle coming, the metal monster swiped at it with its powerful tail, sending the car hurdling back to Raven. It struck her forcefully and sent her painfully right back to the ground, very near where she had fallen last time. And the time before that. And the time before that. Like she said, this was not turning out to be a good day.

Cyborg ran to her aid while Beast Boy and Robin distracted the monster. Cyborg threw the car off of her easily, and helped her stand. A quick healing from her powers took away any injuries she had obtained.

"You ok, Rae?" Cyborg asked, eager to get back to the fighting.

Raven sighed to herself, but nodded. As he turned and ran back into the fray, Raven drew up her cowl. Maybe it would be best to wait in the sidelines until her team needed her.

About ten feet away, the four other Titans continued to attack the iguana, bit by bit wearing down and breaking apart the steel beast. From his hiding place, Rancid saw that this battle would not be ending well for him. He pressed the largest button on his control box, before sprinting away from the action under the covering of shadows.

Robin's sharp eye detected Rancid's rapid movement, and at the same time he noticed that a slowly increasing beeping noise began coming from the chest of the iguana.

"Titans!" Robin yelled, realizing that the monster's chest cavity must be concealing a bomb, "The robot is going to explode! Raven, get it out of here!"

Finally a job she could do without significant risk of more injury.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cried, throwing out her arms towards the iguana. Nothing happened. Why weren't her powers working? Raven chanted her mantra again and then again with no effect. Finally, as she began to panic, dark energy shot from her arms, encased the beast and sent it rapidly upward into the sky. The blast came a few seconds later, and shook the ground with its sheer force. The noise was absolutely deafening. Smoldering scrap metal rained down on the Titans as they dodged the debris frantically.

When the remains of the destroyed robot stopped falling, the Titans gathered around Robin for his usual post-battle comments.

"Nice work, team," Robin began, "Especially you with that last minute save, Raven." He grinned at her and she nodded, allowing her dark energy to draw up her cowl, which had fallen away from her face. She was sure that they had noticed her temporary lapse in power control, but hoped that it wouldn't be brought up.

"Rancid got away, but at least we took down his latest 'pet.'" Robin continued. "Lets get back to the Tower and scan the city for Rancid. He can't be far from here. Cyborg, you picking up anything?"

"No, man," Cyborg responded, "He's not anywhere within a ten mile radius. He must've had his motorcycle waiting nearby."

"That doesn't matter. We'll track him down," Robin said with certainty.

"My good friends," Starfire said jubilantly, "Although we have not caught the Johnny Rancid, we have been successful in this battle, correct?"

"Oh yeah, we whooped his sorry butt!" BB exclaimed, pumping an arm into the air.

"Why do not we celebrate our victory with the consumption of the pizza, as is our tradition?" Starfire asked, hands clasped in front of her chest.

"I don't know, Star. Maybe we should get back to the Tower. Some of us got pretty whipped around during this battle," Robin said, turning to Raven and causing all the Titans to look at her sympathetically.

"I'm fine," Raven replied coolly. "It was my fault. I just need to meditate."

With that, Raven turned and flew off toward the Tower, not looking back at her friends.

"Let Raven be all mopey if she wants to, I wanna celebrate!" BB said, "Lets get pizza!"

With that, he took Robin by one hand and Starfire by the other, and proceeded to drag them to their favorite restaurant with Cyborg trailing a few feet behind.

"I guess Raven'll be alright by herself until we get home," Robin hesitantly agreed, and allowed himself to be pulled along by his green friend.

"Most certainly, Robin," Starfire agreed. "She simply must need the alone time."

……….

Back at the Tower, Raven trudged into the kitchen to prepare herself a cup of tea. A kettle was filled with water, and when the whistle began to shriek a few minutes later, Raven poured the bubbling water into one of her favorite mugs. A bag of Earl Grey was added with a spoonful of sugar, and Raven swirled the glass until the liquid turned a rich, dark brown color.

Breathing in the soothing aroma, she made her way to the common room's couch that overlooked the city. Raven sat near the center, fingers wrapped around the mug, as the last of the afternoon light filtered into the room. The late spring sun was setting beautifully, filling the sky with radiant pink, purple, and orange hues.

It really was lovely, and Raven might have enjoyed it a bit, if her mind had not been quite so preoccupied with very troubling thoughts.

"I was so off today," Raven mused to herself. She thought back to the Rancid battle, and the Mumbo Jumbo battle hours before that one. The Titans usually got thrown around a bit before they managed to subdue the craftier villains that they fought regularly, but Raven was not usually hurt quite so many times during each face-off.

She honestly did not know what she would do without her healing powers. Lately it seemed that she was using them on herself after every skirmish with the Titans' enemies. It usually wasn't anything too major; usually just a laceration here and a burn there, but sometimes it was worse. She had twisted a few limbs quite painfully, and had obtained a few fractures and concussions in the last few weeks alone. Even though the majority of her injuries were repaired almost instantly, Raven suffered horribly from residual soreness. What was even more frightening than this constant reminder of her troubles was the fact that her powers had lately not been completely reliable. She had been meditating even more often than usual, but still she had problems getting her powers to work properly. On her flight home, she had even almost fallen into the bay. She never almost fell into the bay. Something was making her power lapse.

Her head throbbed painfully, making it difficult to think clearly over the pulsing of the blood in her cranium. Her unfortunate mailbox to the head accident certainly did not help, but it wasn't completely to blame for her discomfort. Raven had been experiencing a recurring headache for quite a few days now. She had accredited it to some sort of battle injury for a while, but after having thorough neurological tests performed by Cyborg in the med lab, he could not find what could possibly be bothering her. Cyborg had offered to get further tests done at a professional practice, but Raven had declined at the time. Looking back on that decision, Raven wished that she had accepted. Maybe then she would know what was making her head hurt so badly and so often, and why her powers were often acting out of her control.

The pain seemed to come mostly in the late evening, and sometimes kept her awake at night, but it was gone by the time she woke up the next morning. Raven had been putting off going to Nevermore to look for answers. She kept promising herself that if the pain and power difficulties got more severe, she would certainly go into her mind to investigate. Thus far, however, she had been managing to perform her duties, if not well then at least sufficiently. She had a feeling that something was wrong, but she would much rather ignore it and put off the bad news as long as possible. Besides, she was still hoping against hope that the problem would just fix itself.

Raven groaned to herself and stood up. The pain was making her nauseous. Maybe a hot shower would help soothe away the discomfort. She downed the rest of her tea and hurried to her bedroom. She gathered up a towel and her preferred shampoo and soap, and then hurried to the Tower's only bathroom.

As she was walking, Raven's foot caught on something and she stumbled, catching herself before she fell, but still dropping everything she had been carrying. 'Fantastic,' Raven thought bitterly. She spun around, looking for whatever had tripped her. She found nothing. Sighing to herself, Raven bent down and took up what had fallen from her arms, and continued on to the shower.

As much as she tried, Raven could not appreciate the steamy water. Her mind was too worried and her body too sore. She rinsed the shampoo from her hair, somehow managing to get a rather stinging eyeful of the gel. After a painful minute of washing out her eyes, Raven shuddered. A strange sensation had flitted through her body. She suddenly felt cold, but not the usual sensation as if the shower water's temperature had been changed. Raven felt like ice water was rushing through her veins, and it stung horribly. Her stomach lurched, and her vision blurred.

With a shaking hand, she shut off the water, and Raven stepped from the shower stall anxiously. After wrapping a white towel about her, she felt her legs go weak, and she fell to the floor. Her heart beat very rapidly, and her face flushed. Raven trembled with cold but felt like she was burning up at the same time as she pressed her cheek to the cool tile floor. Raven could feel her quickened pulse beating in her ears, drowning out every other noise, including her own rapid breathing.

"What's happening to me?" Raven croaked, alarmed that her voice sounded muffled and distant.

Her heart continued to beat rapidly, and her stomach lurched again. This time, it was all Raven could do to scramble to her knees and bend over the toilet before acid stung the back of her throat and the contents of her stomach were emptied into the porcelain bowl.

As quickly as possible, Raven spat away the last of the putrid taste and raised a shaking hand to flush the toilet. Her stomach still turned and clenched, but the desire to wretch was dying away, as was the pulsing blood in her ears. Raven sat on the floor of the bathroom for many minutes, waiting for her heartbeat to revert to normal.

When she felt that her strength had returned, Raven stood and leaned heavily on the sink counter. The mirrors were still slightly fogged over from her shower, but she could see herself well enough.

Her eyes were rimmed in red, and her lips were tinted a purplish-blue. Her skin was ashen and papery, and humid from shower water and sweat. Turning on the sink faucet, Raven splashed her face with cold water and rinsed her mouth with some as well, savoring the beautiful cooling feeling that it brought. She felt thirsty, but did not want to risk putting anything into her stomach after what had just happened.

Slowly, she straightened the towel which had fallen slack about her, and gathered up what she had taken into the bathroom. Flushing the toilet once more for good measure, Raven left the room silently and made her way to her bedroom as quickly as possible. As soon as she arrived, Raven put on a fresh uniform and flopped onto her bed.

Raven knew that she was almost as susceptible to human illnesses as one who was completely human. However, what frightened Raven the most was that usually days before she became ill, she could tell through meditation that she was going to be sick soon, and was often able to avoid it completely. The bizarre attack that she had experienced in the bathroom came with no warning whatsoever, alerting her to the fact that it was either not a human sickness, or her ability to detect illnesses was also failing.

Raven stood from her bed and took up her Nevermore portal mirror, returning to her bed to sit. Her limbs still felt a bit wobbly as she walked, but other than that, she seemed to have recovered.

Raven stared into the mirror with unblinking eyes and chanted her mantra. Within seconds, she was being pulled into Nevermore by a strong, invisible force.

Needless to say, Raven did not feel like dealing with her more annoying emotions at the present time. As soon as she opened her eyes and found herself in a universe of mostly red and black, Raven set out to find Knowledge, the sole voice of reason in her mind. And luckily, Raven knew just where to look for her.

"Ravie!" A voice screamed from behind Raven, and a pair of incredibly strong arms gripped her in a bone-shattering hug.

"Ha-Happy I can-n't breathe," Raven gasped, struggling to free herself from the peppy pink-clad emotion.

"Sorry!" Happy apologized quickly with an easy laugh, removing her arms and not noticing how Raven staggered about, trying to keep her balance once released. "Long time no see!"

Raven was practically doubled over in pain still. "My God, Happy, your hugs are more deadly than Starfire's."

Happy giggled. "Silly goose!" she exclaimed.

"Look, Happy, I have a serious issue here. Where is Knowledge?" Raven replied.

Happy scowled. "Ol' book brain should be where she is ninety-nine percent of the time."

"Alright. Thank you," Raven said, edging away.

"No problemo! Anytime." Happy grinned again and darted away, making train noises as she ran.

Raven quickly edged away from Happy and walked to where she suspected she could find Knowledge, because if anyone here could help her, it would be Knowledge for sure. Raven moved quietly, hoping to avoid any further interaction with unwanted emotions.

At last Raven spied Knowledge under a large tree in a grassy field maybe fifty paces away. She had her nose in a gigantic grey book that had no visible title.

"Knowledge," said Raven, approaching the girl. Raven sat down by her preferred emotion.

"Ah, Raven. You've come back to Nevermore," Knowledge greeted her. "Welcome."

"I'm pretty sure that we have a rather big problem on our hands," Raven admitted, wasting no time with other formalities.

Knowledge shut her book and looked up. "More than you know, Raven. More than you know."

Raven swallowed. This was not the answer she had wanted to hear.

"Please elaborate," she requested.

"Alright, but try to be mature about this. It doesn't need to be as horrible as it will sound." Knowledge warned her carefully.

Raven wasn't sure what to say. "Just tell me… am I in danger?"

Knowledge sighed. "Well, yes and no. You are in quite a bit of danger as we speak, but it can easily be taken care of."

Raven nodded. "But what's the issue?"

She took a short moment to collect her thoughts and determine exactly what she would say. "Do you remember your battle against your father Trigon?" Knowledge asked slowly.

Raven scoffed. "Knowledge. My father destroyed the earth and almost killed my friends. Of course I remember."

"When did that all took place?" Knowledge asked, thoughtfully.

"On my last birthday," Raven replied.

"And do you know what day is quickly coming up?" Knowledge asked. It was apparent that she would rather have Raven puzzle through this herself than just tell her the information she needed.

"…Memorial day?" Raven guessed lamely.

Knowledge looked annoyed. "Well, yes, but guess again, Raven. You know that if you cooperate, you'll be able to stop your rather unpleasant physical ailments all the sooner."

Raven sighed. "Fine," she acquiesced, "My birthday is quickly approaching."

"Very good," Knowledge commended her. "And what is significant about this birthday of yours?"

"I will have survived one year past the day I was meant to die?"

"Again, yes. But more than that. What is unique about this birthday?"

"I am turning seventeen."

"And what is special about turning seventeen, Raven?"

"I'll be able to… drive?" Raven guessed.

"No," Knowledge pushed, "You can already drive. What is special about a girl's seventeenth birthday?"

Raven had nothing to say. " I honestly do not know."

"Think outside of the Earth's customs. Think back to Azarath," Knowledge said.

Knowledge watched Raven's face with apparent amusement as it transitioned from confusion, to shock, to panic, then back to confusion.

She chuckled. "I see you understand now, Raven."

"I, uh," Raven stuttered intelligently, "I don't think I do. I can't be right," she said apprehensively, and then sat blinking at Knowledge with rising terror.

Knowledge sighed. "If you'll only remember what I said about this not being quite as bad as it seems…"

"Fine," Raven said. "I'll sit here and not say anything. Just tell me what's actually going on." There was a moderate amount of pleading in that statement, as Raven began to lose her calm demeanor.

Knowledge looked at the empath levelly for a moment then slowly nodded.

"Alright, Raven," she began. "A girl on Azarath, at seventeen years old, is considered a woman. She is no longer a child, and is expected to become an adult, and conduct herself like one in every way. You know this. You also know that a particularly important part of coming into adulthood on Azarath is being united in matrimony."

"I'm not on Azarath!" Raven replied hotly. "This is Earth. I'm more human than Azarathian, and on Earth, I'm still a child."

Knowledge clucked her tongue reprovingly at her.

"Now, you know that isn't true, Raven. You are exactly half Azarathian. You were born on Azarath and the priests and priestesses of Azarath raised you. If anything, you are more Azarathian than human."

"I'm not getting married, you know." Raven said defiantly, but her voice shook.

"What happened to your agreement of silence?" Knowledge asked her with mild annoyance.

Raven disregarded her comment angrily. " Is there anything more I need to know other than that I need to find a husband?"

Knowledge continued on serenely, ignoring the frantic words of the dark girl before her.

"When an Azarathian baby was born, he or she had a unique type of spell placed upon them."

"You mean a curse," Raven shot back. "I already knew that."

"Let me finish," Knowledge sighed. "Yes, one could pettishly think of it as a curse, but this spell was only utilized to ensure that the population of Azarath remained steady. By the nature of the curse, if one does not obey the federal law of Azarath to be bound in matrimony by their seventeenth birthday, they will die slowly and painfully. Think of this as a clever alternative to hunting down the lawbreakers and going through the bother of carrying out capital punishment. So you see, if you do not marry soon, your physical state will begin to deteriorate at a much faster rate than it is now and you will be dead on your birthday."

Raven put her head in her hands and shut her eyes. "Fantastic," she groaned, "How am I going to find a man who will marry me immediately?"

"You don't," Knowledge said, and Raven looked up hopefully. "A man has been chosen for you."

"Who?" Raven cried, jumping up. This was too much to take sitting down. It was just too much to take period. She was only sixteen, for God's sake! She should not have to deal with the affliction of marriage now, much less an arranged marriage. Raven was seething. So much for choosing her own destiny after defeating Trigon, now she had even more Azarath based rubbish to wade through.

Knowledge stood as well, so she could look Raven in the eyes. "This is the part that I warned you doesn't have to be as bad as it seems."

Raven was dumbfounded. "I thought this whole marriage issue was the bad part."

"Marriage isn't all bad, Raven. In fact, it's a necessary part of any culture. It secures a means of increasing population and provides a safe environment for children to grow in," Knowledge reasoned logically.

"Well, it's a horrible thing for a sixteen year old," Raven insisted. She swallowed heavily and croaked, "Who am I marrying?"

"Normally your husband would have to be an Azarathian too. However, as there are no Azarathian males of your age alive today with which you could be successfully matched, that would be quite impossible," Knowledge responded. "Raven, I'm surprised that you were not aware of this law."

"I knew about it vaguely," Raven replied with a sigh. "I had not planned on living after I turned sixteen. I wasn't even aware that the priests would bother to cast the spell on me when they also knew I would die before I reached the marrying age."

Knowledge processed this. "That would make sense," She admitted finally. "It must have simply been a precaution."

"So," Raven said while swallowing again, her face pale and her heart drumming in her chest, "Who is…he?"

"You know him very well," Knowledge said. "The priests and priestesses had the foresight to add a unique provision to the system in order to protect special cases such as yourself. But they never could have imagined that the whole planet would be ruined as it was…" She trailed off, her voice full of remorse.

"Poor priests. May they rest in peace. Now, onto more pressing matters," Raven prodded.

Knowledge cast her a disproving glance, and continued. "Like I was saying, the contingency states that in the event of a situation where an Azarathian of the opposite gender and same age can not be found, and if the Azarathian is also of another descent, a partner can be chosen from the planet from which the Azarathian also descends. The marriage will then occur on the planet from which the male primarily descends."

Raven's mind went over these words a few times before their meaning completely clicked. "Alright," she said slowly, "So I may choose my husband from all the seventeen year old males on Earth."

Knowledge smiled, "Actually, no."

Raven frowned deeply, and evidence of quickly mounting anger etched her face.

Knowledge hastened to continue. "I have not finished relating the law to you. And also, I previously stated that a man has been selected for you."

"Damn Azarathians and their arranged marriages…" Raven mumbled.

Knowledge cleared her throat and went on. "If you would let me speak, I am about to tell you why this situation is not as bad as you may think."

"Go on, Knowledge," Raven said, working very hard to not do something irrational and destructive in her current state of distress.

Knowledge nodded. "I quote from the laws of Azarath, 'Once the partners have been united in holy matrimony in the name of Azar, they may abstain from sexual relations if both have given consent to this decision. A marriage must be honored for the minimum of two years, before it is eligible for termination by a legal divorce.'"

Raven grinned grimly. "So, I don't have to have sex with this guy, but I need to live with him for two years."

Knowledge nodded. "Yes, in layman's terms, I guess that summarizes it nicely."

Raven did not know what to think of this. In a way, she was relieved to know that even if these next two years of her life were hellish, she would be able to walk out of the relationship at nineteen a virgin. But that one part of the law frightened her. 'If both have given consent to this decision,' the law had stated. So basically, if this guy wanted her to sleep with him, she would have little say in the matter. Fantastic. Raven quickly decided to pitch herself from the roof of Titans Tower if this happened.

Raven must have been grinning at this thought, and Knowledge had a basic idea of what Raven was most likely considering.

"One more thing, Raven," the emotion spoke up, "The very last part of the law states that 'failing to observe these marriage laws, by means of the non-exhaustive list of suicide, murder, infidelity, and other federal crimes, will result in the immediate death of both partners and the prayers of Azar that their souls may be damned.'"

Raven almost laughed out loud. "I am the daughter of a demon," Raven said with scorn in her voice. "My soul is already destined to be damned."

Knowledge shook her head. "That is an entirely different discussion for another time. I'm surprised that you have not already beat me up to find out who you will be married too."

The bitter smile fell from Raven's face within milliseconds. "Tell me," She demanded, her voice so threatening that she made Knowledge gulp.

"I can help you figure it out, but I'm not sure that I want to be around when you realize who the lucky guy is." With that, Knowledge picked up her boring grey book and prepared to leave.

Raven jumped and practically slide tackled Knowledge, pinning her arms to the ground beneath her.

"Tell me," Raven commanded her with a voice that would make anyone fear for their life.

"Get off of me, Raven," Knowledge said with surprising calm, "Or I won't even give you a hint. Raven obeyed, and Knowledge serenely stood. "But you must promise to limit your reaction as to not destroy us all," she added seriously.

Raven smirked and agreed, but this smirk was also wiped off of her face very quickly as she realized that Knowledge had implied that she would be in a murderous rage upon finding out whom her future husband would be. A terrible suspicion of who this might be began to well in her stomach, and Raven felt her nausea returning.

"You know him well, and he recently turned seventeen." Knowledge finished this statement and stepped back.

Raven's brow furrowed for a brief moment, and then it clicked.

"_I have to marry Beast Boy?!" _She screeched so loudly that all around Nevermore, flocks of black birds burst into the air in a terrible flurry of feathers. The ground shook horribly and both girls were thrown to the ground.

Knowledge sat Indian-style with her hands firmly pressed over her ears.

"You finished yet?" she called after a minute, too wary to remove her hands.

Raven was on her knees, doubled over so that she was hugging her legs. She was currently fighting to not destroy Nevermore and a good part of the Earth with the dangerous power of panic that surged through her.

When Raven looked up, there were tears in her eyes that she did not try to hide. Her voice shook so much that it was nearly impossible to decipher what she was saying.

"I won't be able to stand two years married to Beast Boy," she cried. "I can't – I can't stand him."

Knowledge carefully removed her hands from her ears and said sagely, "You can accept this, or you can try to stop it. But either way, it is going to happen. I advise that you learn to cope, because you may either choose to live with the laws in place for two years, or you can give up now and die."

With this, Knowledge got up to leave. Raven did not try to stop her or even say goodbye. She just sat in the field, simply thinking.

When she finally stood, she had come to a decision. She would get through these two years and she would come out of it all a virgin. Then, she would have the rest of her life to live the way she wished too, and most importantly, she would remain a Titan.

Raven sighed in anguish. "Does this mean I have to propose to Beast Boy?" she said to no one. Of course, no one answered her, and Raven allowed herself to be pulled back out of Nevermore and fell onto her bed.

--

Interesting stuff, huh? I really hope that you enjoyed this first chapter. Please review and tell me what you think so far!

Thank you for reading!


	2. Awkward Moments

**A.N.** I'd like to thank everyone who offered me feedback on the first chapter of this story. You guys rock.

Chapter two of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Awkward Moments"

As soon as Raven arrived back in her room from Nevermore, she heard furious pounding at her bedroom door. She closed her eyes for a moment, regaining her control and calm as best as she could. Raven groaned, but swung her legs over the side of her circular bed and slowly shuffled to her door. She carefully opened it a few inches, as was her custom.

Robin had been standing near her door with a very worried expression on his face for quite some time. He looked like he was about to break down her door if she hadn't answered at that moment.

"Raven, what happened?" he asked quickly, apparently extremely relieved to see her. "I've been knocking on your door for the last five minutes!"

Raven blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

Robin stood, his mouth agape. "The entire city started shaking! I tracked the source, and it was coming directly from your room. What happened?" he repeated.

Raven still stood there dumbly, not quite sure what she should say. However, she was sure that she did not want to disclose what she had recently found out from Knowledge. Not yet. "I'm not sure, Robin. Maybe some of my power escaped during my meditation," she replied innocently, lying through her teeth. Like hell she didn't know exactly what had happened. Even though she had struggled to control her power, enough had apparently been freed that there had been something like an earthquake in both dimensions.

Robin eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure that's all?" he asked incredulously.

"I'm sure. Why are you the only one here?" she questioned, attempting to change the subject.

He looked at her suspiciously, but decided to let the issue go. As long as the strange earthquake had ended and no one was hurt, he could move on. At least for right now. "They're at dinner still. I came back early because you had been acting strangely before you left. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine, thanks." Raven tried to close the door, but Robin stopped it firmly with a gloved hand.

"Are you sure, Raven? You know, if you have a problem, you can talk to me." He assured her with a serious voice. "That's what friends are for."

Raven tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Thanks, but I can promise you that there is absolutely no problem that you can help me with." Raven did not see this as a lie, because, after all, it was true that no one could help her out of this mess.

This time, when she tried to shut the door, he let it close in his face. After a minute of standing with his thoughts and deciding that Raven had in fact put a deadlock on their discussion, Robin turned and walked down the hallway.

Raven slumped to the floor near her doorway upon hearing his slowly retreating footsteps. This was absolutely horrible. How long could she possibly wait? Everyday she let go by would just bring more pain, and she would become less and less able to do her job as a Titan. That is, until her birthday. Then she would die. If this wasn't the mother of lose-lose situations, she didn't know what was.

She wanted desperately to tell someone about her problems. Raven hoped against hope that there was a way around this mess, that maybe if she just told Robin her dilemma he would be able to miraculously find a loophole in the system for her to escape through. Raven groaned, burying her face in her cold hands. True, he had been able to save her from dying as a portal for her father, but this was so different. This was an ancient curse. An unwavering curse that demanded her obedience. Raven trusted Robin with her very life, and could rest assured that he would do anything within his power to end this affliction. But that was just the thing: He couldn't do anything for her now. No one could. If Knowledge wasn't even able to, a teenager who was completely naïve to Azarathian law stood no chance.

Raven was still lost in her morbid thoughts when her heart began to beat very rapidly in a painfully familiar way. "Oh no," she groaned to herself, drawing her hands in a sporadic motion away from her face and allowing them to close into fists. Ice clenched her stomach, and Raven shook. Despite the horribly cold sensation that flooded her stomach, her limbs burned like they were on fire. Much like the first time this happened to her, her head felt like it was being beaten repeatedly against a metal pole, and she was having difficulty breathing. It was like the air had been knocked out of her; the more she tried to breathe, the harder it was. Her breath came in pitifully shallow, raspy gasps that seemed to resonate through her room.

Raven tried hard to keep from crying out. Her vision began to swim and then went white, and she collapsed to the ground where she laid gasping for air. Her whole body burned as she attempted to stand, but she stumbled over her own feet and fell to the floor again. Using her shaking arms, Raven crawled over to her wastebasket just in time to vomit. Her stomach was completely empty, but this did not quell the intense, searing pain. Her stomach tried in vain to rid itself of whatever was causing this agony, but Raven could do nothing more than let the curse run its course as she panted painfully, trying to fight the urge to pass out on the floor.

Raven rolled onto her back and stayed there, attempting not to move at all. Eventually, after maybe five more minutes of the horrible physical torture, the pain began to gradually lessen. Raven lay panting for air, staring up at her dark ceiling. Her mouth still tasted foul from retching, and her throat also hurt awfully, but the majority of the pain had left. This attack had been notably worse than the first. Her ears were left ringing and her head still felt unbelievably light.

There and then, Raven decided that she would need to get this marriage over with as quickly as possible. Forget searching for another alternative, and give up the prospect of uncovering a loophole from the system. There were none to be had. Even if she searched until the moment she died no escape would be found. And at this rate, Raven seriously doubted if she could survive many more of these attacks and recover fully each time. The only other option was to give in and let the curse kill her, but Raven opted for life. After all, as morbid as it seemed, Raven could either submit herself to hell now or put off the judgment a while longer. She also recognized her position as a Titan, which she currently viewed as her top priority on this planet. To give up and die would hurt the team.

Raven had made up her mind. She would confront Beast Boy as soon as he got home, and basically propose to him. Slowly, Raven staggered to her feet, swaying dangerously, but miraculously managing to stumble to her bed. She flopped on top of it, and tears sprung to her eyes that she could not stop from spilling over. Raven did not know how long she laid there in her tears and thoughts before she fell into an exhausted but fitful sleep.

TT

"Hey Rob," Cyborg called warmly as he entered the common room with Starfire and Beast Boy.

Robin raised a hand in greeting and went back to his work at a complicated looking computer screen. Charts, graphs, and pages of quickly scrolling text filled the entire monitor almost completely. "Where have you guys been?" he asked, not diverting his eyes.

"Starfire wanted to see some cheesy ninja movie," Beast Boy replied, sticking out his tongue. "It wasn't any good. Dumb plot, clichéd ending." He paused to step towards the kitchen area of the room, taking a quick look in the fridge before rapidly shutting the door in disgust with a very sour look. Sauntering to the couch, he plopped unceremoniously to the cushioned seat with a sigh. "Find anything new on Raven?"

"Not really. That earthquake was generated directly from her bedroom, and she accredited it to a power slip. I guess she's telling the truth, but it's kind of an odd story," Robin explained, frowning deeply.

"Friend Raven may be going through a most difficult time," Starfire began. When she was sure that she had the attention of the three males in the room, she continued. "According to your calendar, this month is called the May. The month of Raven's birth is also in this month of the May. Perhaps our friend is merely experiencing sadness related to the memories that the day of her birth brings."

"Huh," Robin grunted, "You might have something there. Would you mind talking to her, Star?"

"I would be most delighted to aid our friend," Starfire exclaimed, and she rushed off to find Raven.

"I dunno," Cyborg said, scratching the base of his neck, "Did you guys see what happened to her when we fought Rancid?"

"She was getting beat up a lot," Beast Boy offered from his seat, eyes closed and head resting on the back of the couch.

"More than that," Robin added, "Her powers didn't seem to be working properly."

"You think this is another fear related thing?" Cy asked his friends. He walked near the monitor where Robin sat, and peered over his leader's shoulder at the complex screen.

"No, I don't," Robin said. He appeared to struggle with something internally for a moment before saying, "You guys know that Raven and I share a bond. I would know if something like that was wrong with her again."

"But then what is it?" Beast Boy asked. "If it's not fear, could it just be about her birthday?"

"Raven's smart," Cyborg commented before sighing. "I don't think she'd let emotion like that get in the way of her fighting again."

"I don't know what else it could be," Robin said, holding up his hands in defeat. "We're just going to have to wait for Starfire to come back. Maybe she'll learn something about this from Raven."

Cyborg added a nonchalant word of agreement. "Any Rancid leads?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Not yet," Robin admitted. He went back to his computer screen, rapidly typing with both hands on a small keyboard as a few different maps were brought up. Robin smirked. "He's not very smart. It should be easy to track the guy down. It can wait until morning." Carefully, he pulled down the screen full of material he had been wading through and turned off the monitor.

Cyborg checked the clock on his arm. "Woah, It's already two in the morning. Is there anything else on the day's itinerary, Rob?"

"Nothing I can think of that needs our immediate attention," Robin replied, stretching his aching arms.

"I guess I'll turn in for the night then." Cyborg said with a yawn. "G'night ya'll." With that, he began to retreat from the room, setting the security system and locking down the Tower for the evening from his arm as he walked.

Just as he was about to slide open the door to leave the common area, it burst open and Starfire quickly flew into the room. "Our friend Raven is not in her quarters," she reported.

Beast Boy sat up from where he had flopped on the couch. "You couldn't find her?" His face grew a bit more serious, which everyone knew was rare.

"I visited Raven as I was asked to do so, and she did not answer her door after my numerous attempts to attract her attention." Starfire's eyes danced nervously. "Eventually I opened the door myself. Raven was not in her bedroom, but the mirror which serves as her portal to her dimension of Nevermore was placed on her bed."

"It's alright, Star," Robin said calmly. "She's probably meditating. We should probably just leave her alone now, at least until the morning."

"I agree," Cyborg said, then looked pointedly at Beast Boy. "And no one should even think about bothering Raven in her room when she needs to meditate." Nodding their agreement silently, both Starfire and Robin turned their eyes to give Beast Boy a stern look as well.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Beast Boy complained.

Cyborg rolled his eyes and smirked. He then bid his friends a good night again, and left the room to go recharge.

"We all should be getting some sleep," Robin said, and walked for the door leading to the bedrooms of the Tower. Starfire followed in the same direction a few moments later. Beast Boy had already fallen fast asleep on the comfortable couch, curled up with a drop of drool handing from his open mouth as he snored contentedly.

TT

After a few agonizing hours of attempting to stay asleep and finding that it offered very little reprieve, Raven had decided to travel back to Nevermore. Her time of reflection led her to realize that she was still foggy on much of her current situation, and she opted to talk to Knowledge again.

Raven picked up her mirror and was quickly taken into her mind. Upon her arrival, Raven set out for Knowledge.

Raven found her in the same grassy field, but she had moved so that she was no longer sitting in front of the dormant tree by which they had first conversed near.

"Knowledge," Raven began, mildly embarrassed at bothering her again so soon.

The wise emotion glanced up and grinned benevolently.

"I was wondering when you would come back," she spoke curtly. "I hope you have calmed down some."

Raven frowned. "I have, yes."

"Good," Knowledge replied. "What did you wish to speak to me about?"

"There are so many questions that I have," Raven admitted, "After I had time to think I realized how much I still need to know."

"Like what?" Knowledge asked.

"Like why Beast Boy?" Raven inquired earnestly. She had promised herself that she would not allow her emotions to come into play during this discussion. She would have time to just sit and cry later if she really needed to, but now was an opportune time to learn what she needed to know to save her life. Because of this resolution, Raven kept her voice down and kept her face as devoid of emotion as she could.

"The marriage laws are very complex," said Knowledge, "But in your rare situation, you must marry a man that you know well. That means for at least three years or so. Obviously he must be unbetrothed, and he must be seventeen years old before you turn seventeen. Given these stipulations, Beast Boy is the only one of your closer friends that fulfills all of the requirements."

Raven considered this. Cyborg was nineteen and Robin was eighteen. Besides, to even consider marrying Robin would either destroy the Titans hands down or get her murdered in her sleep by a jealous Starfire. She loved Cyborg like a brother, and it made her sick to think of being forced into any other sort of relationship with him. With those two off her list, she knew of no other males that she was even remotely close to other than Beast Boy. Raven quickly moved on with her next question.

"There are no priests or pastors who would marry two seventeen year olds in Jump City," Raven said. "It is illegal. We're still only kids."

"That does make it difficult. But, as you probably know, in many situations the leader of a team is given the power to conduct marriages," Knowledge offered.

"Robin," Raven whispered with a groan, resting her forehead in her palm. "This is too much. This marriage could destroy the Titans."

"It doesn't have to," Knowledge reasoned with her, "I advise you to treat the situation with care, but not to make a bigger deal over it than it merits. Technically, to the best of my understanding, there needs to be no major changes after you and Beast Boy have been married and the law has been satisfied. The only difference is a few, ah, perks that will be made available."

Raven scoffed and blushed despite herself. "Moving on," she said emphatically, "I can't imagine that the priests of Azarath would condemn every soon to be seventeen year old child to the kind of pain that I have been experiencing."

"That is true," Knowledge agreed. "That is because most children submit to the law and do not wait until so close to their seventeenth birthday to be married. Many are betrothed at a much younger age, and by prayer and petition are able to show that they wish to submit to the law. Because of this, they are spared from the physical punishment that you are suffering."

"Is there nothing I can do then, until I am married, to stop these attacks I have been experiencing?" Raven asked with bated breath.

Knowledge hesitated. "Basically, no. There is nothing. Your birthday is very soon. Eight days from now, to be exact. The absolute longest you can delay your wedding to Beast Boy is seven days from today, as the law states that if a child from Azarath is not married before their seventeenth birthday, that person will die."

Raven swallowed heavily. "What if he says no?" She wondered out loud.

"Beast Boy won't say no. He cares for you more than you think. Even if not yet romantically, certainly as more than just a teammate."

Raven frowned. "Are you certain that this is my only option?"

"Look," Knowledge replied, holding her gaze with unwavering eyes, "I've poured through all the books available to me that speak of this issue. There is no alternative. If you wish, you may also read through those books if you do not trust your own persona of knowledge to do what is best for you. If it helps, all of us are in this together."

Raven smirked mirthlessly. "It doesn't help."

Knowledge nodded sadly. " I thought you might say that. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can say to change your mind once it is set. I can offer nothing more to you unless you have further questions I can help you with."

"None right now," Raven admitted, "But if I think of any, I'll drop by."

Her intelligent emotion frowned. "I think that would get rather annoying, don't you? If you have something to say to me, say it now. I've given you what I can. Heck, if I hadn't told you about this whole marriage issue, you'd have no clue why you were slowly and painfully dying."

"I know," Raven agreed with a nod, "And I sincerely thank you for your help."

Knowledge bowed her head for a moment in a formal acceptance of the thanks. "Good luck, Raven," she wished seriously as she seemed to sink into the ground, effectively ending their discussion.

TT

Beast Boy was roused from his deep sleep by a deafening burst of thunder, followed by heavy rain that pelted the Tower. Without opening his eyes, Beast Boy flopped onto his other side and grabbed for his pillow.

This action, of course, sent him falling to the floor, where he landed none to gracefully on his rear. Jolted fully awake, Beast Boy groaned. "This isn't my bed," he whined.

A flicker of lightning illuminated the sky outside the Tower for a split second, also lighting up the room. Soon recognizing his surroundings as the common room, Beast Boy stood and muttered to himself in a sleepy voice, "Must've fallen asleep here." Stretching, he stumbled to the doors and headed for his room.

A bit miffed from having been awoken so rudely from a rather pleasant dream, he walked silently down the halls with quiet footsteps. He guessed that it was around four in the morning; the Tower showed no other signs of life. Not even Robin or Raven, the early birds, had risen for the day yet.

Beast Boy grumbled to himself as his thoughts and the act of walking called him further from his sleepy state.

He had no problem seeing in the dark hallways; his animalistic senses were attuned to every sound and motion. He paused a moment to yawn. As he closed his eyes, Beast Boy could have sworn that he heard the very faintest swishing of air coming from a distance away. Perhaps a door, or a person's shoe scuffing against the tiled floor. Of course, it was quite difficult to hear a thing over the steadily falling raindrops. Even so, he paused a moment longer, carefully pricking his ears to catch the noise if it again repeated.

It came again. It wasn't any louder, but now he could definitely tell that there was something alive in the Tower moving through the same halls in which he was traveling. He wasn't scared or anything, but nevertheless he set out at a more rapid pace for his room.

The distinct sound of footsteps was suddenly audible, getting slightly louder with every second. Could it be a teammate? An intruder? Johnny Rancid?

Somehow Beast Boy doubted that any villain would be able to make it past the security system, but otherwise foolish notions seemed a lot more real in the dead of night when one was alone.

He was walking very quickly now, covering ground as fast as he could without alerting this other being of his presence.

Beast Boy rounded a corner, and didn't have time to react before he collided with whatever this intruder was.

It let out a soft gasp as they fell, apparently not expecting the collision any more than Beast Boy was.

Beast Boy let out a high-pitched scream as he attempted to scramble away, but his leg was pinned under whoever this person was. Giving himself a split second to gather what he could, his sharp eyes made out the dark outline of a hooded figure. Raven?

His guess was confirmed as the shape said in a hushed voice, "Be quiet! Do you want to wake the entire Tower?"

"Ra-Raven? Is that you?" he spoke with a slightly wavering voice.

"However did you guess," she replied sarcastically. Without even being able to see her face, Beast Boy somehow sensed that she was rolling her eyes.

"What are you doing here? Trying to scare me to death?" he demanded.

"Me?" Raven scoffed, "You're the one who ran into me."

"Well what were you doing out of your room at four in the morning?" he demanded.

"Two-thirty, actually," Raven corrected him. "And I… I was actually hoping to find you." She could feel a blush rising involuntarily to her face, which she failed to suppress.

Beast Boy opened then shut his mouth again. Looking for him, eh?

"Uh, why would you be looking for me in the middle of the night?" he wondered.

Raven sighed. Oh God, where to begin?

"Why don't you start by getting off of my foot?" she suggested.

"Wha-?" Beast Boy began, and then realized that her foot was, in fact, wedged beneath him. "Heh, sorry Rae," he said, untangling his appendages quickly and offering his hand to help her up. She took it and carefully rose.

A silence settled over them for a moment. "So…" he said, "Why were you looking for me?"

Raven swallowed. She had spent the last ten minutes psyching herself up for this, but had completely forgotten what she had planned to say as she had walked the halls in pursuit of Beast Boy. "I don't know where to begin," she admitted.

"How 'bout at the beginning?" he offered. Beast Boy frowned to himself. So much for getting back to sleep. But hey, if Raven wanted to talk, he supposed he didn't mind missing a little beauty rest.

Another silence enveloped the two, as the rain continued to fall high above their heads.

"Join me for tea?" Raven suddenly asked. As soon as the world left her mouth, Raven mentally smacked herself. Where did that come from? Oh well, it would be better than trying to explain this mess in a dark hallway.

"Uh, sure, Raven," Beast Boy agreed somewhat hesitantly.

'_Tea?_' Beast Boy thought to himself, '_She scared me to death in the hallway just to ask me to join her for tea? Weird._' Regardless of how odd the offer was, he accepted and turned to go back down the halls in the direction from which he had come. Raven followed silently.

"Sorry for kinda running you over back there," he apologized.

"It was mostly my fault," Raven admitted. "I was in a bit of a rush."

"To see me?" he asked.

Raven couldn't decide if he was mocking her or if he really was just surprised. Opting for the latter, she replied simply, "Yes. We need to talk."

"Ok, I guess. Are you angry at me or something?"

"No, not at you, Beast Boy," Raven sighed, "At life in general."

"Does this have anything to do with why your powers were being all wacky this afternoon?"

"A bit, yes," was all that Raven divulged. They continued the rest of the way to the kitchen, walking nearly side by side in complete silence. Beast Boy was rather clueless as to what this was all about, but was strangely happy to have Raven actually want to talk to him for once. Content with the strange but welcome oddity, he tried not to break the quiet, which he knew she must appreciate.

Raven, on the other hand, was like an ocean of emotion. Questions, fears, and anxiety were raging just underneath her skin. It really was a wonder that so much could be running through her head and yet the air was so deceptively quiet.

Would she actually do it? To plan out what she would say was one thing, to actually look Beast Boy in the eye and speak her mind was so completely different. And why did she have the steadily increasing feeling that she was walking to her doom?

The two arrived – much too quickly, in Raven's opinion – at the Tower's kitchen. Upon entering the spacious room, the pair was greeted with an amplified sound of the rain. Raven flipped on one of the many light switches with her hand, not daring to even attempt to use her power when her emotions were in such complete shambles.

A few bulbs over the main table flickered to life, bathing the room in soft light. As if driven more by habit than will, Raven went to fill her teapot with tap water and fished a teabag from her designated tea drawer. She turned to Beast Boy. "Want some?"

Beast Boy had taken a seat at the table and had been watching her with an unexplainable emotion on his face. As if snapped from a trance by her voice, he asked dumbly, "Some what?"

Raven held up her teabag, "Tea," she said slowly, as if it should have been obvious.

"Sure," he said, shrugging his shoulders and turning his gaze to look out the window. Was it just him, or was Raven acting really, really weird? First off, when was she ever caught off balance, much less actually fall over? And even stranger than that, when did she start offering to share her tea? It was an unspoken rule in Titans' Tower that taking Raven's tea stuff was a huge no-no, kind of like borrowing the T-Car or touching Robin's hair.

Raven turned back to the counter and drew another mug from the cabinet. She filled the teakettle with more water and set it on the range again. She forced herself to calm down. Perhaps it was a good thing that her powers weren't working anyway, or else the room would probably already be torn apart by escaped energy. Drumming her fingers on the countertop impatiently, she waited for the water to heat up. Was it just her, or was it taking much longer than it usually did to warm? What time was it now… dear God, at this rate, the sun would come up before she could sit down and talk to Beast Boy. And no way was she going to sit down for a discussion like this without her tea. Raven sighed in frustration.

"Um, Raven?" Beast Boy called.

"What?" she snapped somewhat irritably, turning to face him.

"Shouldn't you turn the stove on?" he offered timidly.

Raven sputtered and turned around. Sure enough, she had neglected to start the flame. Shaking her head, she turned the small knob on the front of the stove until the starter clicked and a small blue flame lit the range with a quiet whoosh. A blush crept onto her face again, and she remained turned to hide her face from Beast Boy.

It felt like hours and hours that the room was filled with heavy silence. Raven could not stand it much longer. Although the water was still not boiling, she removed the pot from the flame and poured the hot liquid into the mugs. Adding the teabags and a bit of sugar, she stirred the water slowly with a trembling hand.

Beast Boy sat at the table, leaning back in his chair, hands folded on the tabletop. He was still quite confused. Why in the world was Raven acting so strangely? It was almost as if she was nervous… but Raven didn't do nervous. Sure, when he had first met her – over three years ago now – she had been a very timid, introverted girl. But now she was always composed, always confident, and would even carry on a discussion if there was something to be said.

Now that he thought about it, she had changed a lot. She was still quiet, of course, but not shy. Raven had developed a sort of poise over the years that was even strangely attractive. In a friendly way only, of course. After all, there wasn't room for anything else. She usually acted like she hated his guts. But he could never hate her. From the day they met and she had told him that he was funny, he had, in a small way, fallen in love. But then again, he had also fallen in love with Terra, not all that long ago.

Although it would be difficult to express it in words, the love he felt for Raven was completely different than that which he had expressed for Terra. Terra had been the only person who consistently laughed at his jokes, not to mention that she was pretty funny herself. Still, he had not known her long enough for his immature love to develop into anything more. Although he would not verbalize it, the extent of Beast Boy's feelings for Terra was puppy love; a crush. Quite a serious crush, but there was not enough time for love to grow between them before she ended up betraying them all. Her betrayal still hurt like hell, but it hadn't been love.

Raven, though… He had known Raven for as long as he cared to remember. He had fought by her side, had saved her life, and she had done the same for him on many occasions. And despite all the times she would throw a sarcastic remark in his face or respond to his jokes with a book hurled at his head, they were always friends. She had told him so. But romantically? Yeah, right. Beast Boy knew that even if he wished for it, he stood no chance. He and Raven were polar opposites. They grated on each other's nerves all the time. But how did that saying go. Opposites attract? Sure. Maybe in a romance novel or a TV show, but come on, this was real life.

Beast Boy drew himself from his reverie by quickly shaking his head. Since when did he start reading into stuff like that? Both girls were certainly out of the question for him, and his time was much better spent doing something more important, like playing videogames or forcing tofu on his teammates, than thinking.

He glanced over at Raven. She was stirring a few glasses, with her head bent slightly and her back turned towards him.

"Um, Raven?" he called to her, not entirely certain that she hadn't forgotten that he was there.

She turned her head towards him. "What?" she clipped.

"I was just wondering when you'll be done, that's all. It's kinda late, you know…" his voice trailed off and Raven nodded.

"I apologize. If you need to leave, you can," she said quietly. '_Now where the hell did __that__ come from?_' Raven thought bitterly to herself. Why would she push away the inevitable anymore? It was not probable that she would have another opportunity like this to confront Beast Boy alone again before she ran out of time.

Beast Boy was baffled. It wasn't like Raven at all to ask for company, and whatever she had wanted to say or do had yet to be said or done.

"Only if you want me to," he replied.

Raven suppressed a sigh, and took one mug in each hand. Walking deliberately to the table where Beast Boy was waiting, she felt her heart speed up even more. A bit of hot tea splashed over the rim of the mugs and landed on her hands, but she paid it little mind. The task at hand was clearly of more importance than a little spilled tea.

Raven slid into the seat next to Beast Boy, and turned her chair so that she could look him in the face while still facing the table enough to drink her tea. She pushed his mug in his direction, and he hesitantly reached out for it, mumbling a word of thanks as he eyed the liquid suspiciously. This was probably the first time he had touched tea in his life, unless you counted iced tea.

The first thing he noticed was the oddly fragrant aroma that met his nose. It was a strange, fruity scent, but wasn't bad at all. It was promising, even. He took a tentative sip. It was too hot, but not that bad. After a moment of swishing it around on his tongue, he came to the conclusion that it wasn't as nasty as one would think brownish water would taste, but he still couldn't see the big deal over it. It wasn't even really sweet or anything.

He must have been musing over his tea for too long, because Raven cleared her throat somewhat loudly. He snapped his gaze up immediately.

"So, Raven," he began, "You wanted to tell me something?"

Raven fidgeted her hands around her mug. "Well," she started in a little voice, "First off, you might have noticed that something about my powers has been… slightly askew recently."

"If askew means really glitchy, then yeah," he said without thinking. He noted that her face darkened, and he hastily added, "Sorry, they're not that bad, but we've all noticed that something's up. Star thinks you're just sad 'cause of your birthday, but Cy and Rob don't really know what to think."

"And what do you think?" Raven asked him.

Beast Boy blinked at her. Did Raven just show some interest in what he had to say? This was bizarre. Maybe he was dreaming? As if to prove to himself that he wasn't, Beast Boy took a big mouthful of his tea. It burned his mouth, and he fought to keep from spewing it all over the table. With a wince, he swallowed, sufficiently convinced that he was awake.

"I dunno, Rae," he admitted, and was even more confused when she didn't reprimand him for using the nickname that only Cy could call her. Instead, she nodded, and started tracing circles absentmindedly around the rim of her glass.

"Well, Starfire isn't completely wrong," Raven said. To say that an internal war was being fought just beneath the surface of her cool demeanor would be an understatement. It was becoming difficult for her to think straight. Should she just break down and spill, or should she dish out questions and let him piece together the puzzle like she had? This wasn't fair! Either way there was a definite chance that he would just laugh it off, or maybe just say "thanks but no thanks" and leave her to deal with her own problems.

Besides, marrying so young might really screw up _his_ life too. After all, who would want to marry a guy if he told you he was a divorced man who had been married with a week's notice to a sixteen year old? And the Teen Titans were all about functioning together. Wouldn't a married couple be more inclined to aid their partner over their other teammates, even if it wasn't completely intended? And then there was the issue that they were just plain too young for marriage.

'_Seriously, just look at him,_' Raven thought bitterly. He looked like a kid. He still pouted and whined and had the body of a fourteen year old (even if he _was_ just a touch taller than her now), with the cracking voice to prove it. It definitely just seemed wrong to force this on him. It was odd to think of Beast Boy as older than she was, mostly because of his serious lack of maturity most of the time.

And yet, there was only one other alternative, which was quite morbid indeed. Maybe it was selfish on her part, but Raven would rather opt for life and marry him than submit to hell. It hadn't taken much rational thinking to decide this. All drama aside, she needed to tell him her troubles soon. Like, now.

"Beast Boy, what I'm about to tell you doesn't have to be as bad as it seems." Raven surprised herself by almost quoting Knowledge.

Beast Boy's face grew serious. "I can handle it," he bravely said.

'_If only he knew what he was getting himself into_,' Raven thought with a deep breath. It was now or never. She forced her voice to be calm. At least one of them needed to remain mature right now.

"On Azarath," she said slowly. "When a girl-" Raven was interrupted by a very loud shriek of the alarm system, and they both jumped from their chairs. Red lights began to flash with every buzz of the unwelcome siren.

Raven was literally on the verge of tears. This had to have been the official worst time for a mission in her entire life. What was she supposed to do now? Her powers were all but fried and Beast Boy still had no clue of the gravity of their situation.

"You'll have to tell me later," Beast Boy called over the alarm, sprinting for the door. Raven angrily followed a second later, leaving the tea mugs on the table.

Before either of them could reach the door, it opened rapidly and Robin ran in. Obviously quite surprised to find them in the room, he disabled the alarm and waited for Starfire and Cyborg to arrive. Within a minute, the team had assembled, uniforms immaculate and every team member awake and ready for orders.

Robin sent Raven and then Beast Boy a funny look that said, 'We'll talk later,' and then he quickly diverted his attention to the large screen that took the place of the largest window. His team gathered around him. A quick pass code typed into a keyboard turned on all of the lights and brought up a map to the screen.

"Fires," he whispered, more to himself than his team. Bringing up an aerial view and focusing in, the Titans could see that Rancid had returned. Although the screen was not emitting sound, the Titans could plainly see that Rancid was giggling quite gleefully.

It is never a good sign for heroes when villains giggle gleefully.

Exchanging a few glances, the Titans waited for Robin's instructions. Robin sighed.

"Alright team, it looks like Rancid's back for another battle. At least we won't have to go through the trouble of tracking him down now." Robin's voice trailed off as he typed furiously into the keyboard. A grid of the city took up most of the screen.

Tiny red dots began to fill this grid slowly in little clusters. "Those dots," Robin said, his voice even but tight, "Are fires, located within two miles of Rancid in East JC. They're small, but Rancid must be somehow igniting them from where he is. We've got to go down there, put out the fires, find out what's causing them, keep more from starting, and apprehend Rancid."

"Sounds easy enough," Beast Boy quipped. His teammates paid no attention to him, causing him to frown and cross his arms petulantly.

Raven was nervously playing with the hem of her cloak near her stomach. "Maybe it would be best if I stayed here," she said quietly. Suddenly all eyes were on her.

Obviously anxious to get to the scene of the crime already, Robin asked, "Why's that Raven?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, she said, "If you haven't noticed, my powers have not been working well recently. I might not be able to-"

"Raven," Robin hastily cut her off, "I don't know if we'll be able to handle this without you. Why don't you come and just take it easy if you have to?"

His question sounded an awful lot like a command, and he gave her another odd look before calling, "Titans go!"

The team didn't hesitate. As quickly as they had congregated in the room, they rushed through the door to outside. Luckily, the rain had all but stopped. The moon was doing its best to shine through the rifts in the heavy clouds.

Usually Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy would fly over the bay, but Raven opted to take the T-Car with Cyborg. Robin reacted to this with a slightly troubled expression, but put on his helmet and revved up the R-Cycle without saying a word.

The team was off the island within seconds and headed to where they would find Rancid.

Raven's stomach was turning as they pulled away from the Tower, and she couldn't keep a sickening feeling of dread from coming over her. Somehow, Raven knew that this might not end well. Drawing in a shaky breath, she closed her eyes, attempting to center herself. Focusing on her hand, Raven tried vainly to call up a force field to surround it. She tried three times, and then chanted her mantra. Still nothing. After a few more tries, her hand feebly glowed with dark energy. Well, at least it was something. Even this tiny display managed to raise her spirits significantly, but a feeling of dread still nagged at her as the team sped on, nearing their destination.

--

I hope to have the next chapter up relatively quickly. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I would love your comments. Don't forget to review!

Thanks for reading.


	3. Will You Marry Me?

**A.N**. Sorry about the wait. I find that schoolwork and fan fiction are pretty much incompatible, which unfortunately results in much slower updates than I would like. But luckily, summer break is approaching! I'll have a whole lot more time to devote to my writing then. Again, sorry that this took so long. Please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter three of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Will You Marry Me?"

Titans Tower was only a few miles from East Jump City, and much to Raven's dismay, they arrived at their destination in record time. As promised by their tracking devices, Rancid stood victoriously atop a dented red car, his expression that of wicked jubilance. Upon their arrival, the Titans could see the aforementioned fires. More seemed to pop up every few moments, each starting off with a tiny explosion, but quickly growing to burn anything in their immediate vicinity. It was too dark to tell what was starting the fires, as it was, after all, only three in the morning.

Cyborg and Raven got out of the T-Car, and Beast Boy and Starfire dropped neatly out of the sky. Robin dismounted the R-Cycle, and the Titans stood closely, waiting for Robin's orders.

"If it isn't the little Titans, come back for another whooping!" Rancid cackled loudly from his perch.

"How are these fires starting, Rancid?" Robin called, fists clenching. He dropped into a fighting stance, and his team followed suit.

Johnny laughed, clearly not intimidated by the boy. Crossing his arms over his broad chest, he spoke again, his voice condescending and scornful. "Figure it out, Big Bird, before your city burns to the ground!" And with that, he leapt from the car top with a sudden jump, and went darting down the dark, rain-slick street, laughing all the way.

Without a moment's hesitation, Robin began shouting commands. "Beast Boy, Raven, take down Rancid! Cy, Star, help me figure out the source of the fires and stop them! Titans, go!"

It was like those two words had flipped a switch. The team sprung to life, hurrying to carry out their orders.

Beast Boy transformed into a wolf, and let out a howl before putting his nose to the ground and dashing away in the direction that Rancid had disappeared in. Groaning silently to herself, Raven followed on foot. Turning back for an instant, she saw the rest of her team fanning out, eager to start the mission. She saw that Robin had stopped at one of the nearest small fires, and had unlatched his cape, draping it over the fire to smother it. He caught her glance briefly. "Raven, get moving!" he called, and Raven turned around, doing her best to hurry in her pursuit of Johnny Rancid.

Robin focused his attention back to his task at hand, smothering the fire with his cape. The fire was still tiny, engulfing only some weeds and debris at the edge of the road, and without oxygen, it was quickly extinguished. Robin turned. Something scurrying across the open road caught his eye. Illuminated by the light of a few nearby fires, he could have sworn that there was a little animal slithering across the pavement. Robin's mask narrowed. Could it be another one of Rancid's mechanical pets?

Before he could answer his own question, he saw another little object dart across the ground immediately to his left. Stopping just a few yards from his feet, the thing stilled for a moment, and then unceremoniously burst into flames. Robin jumped back in surprise, grabbing up his cape to beat out the new fire.

All right, so now he knew what was causing the fires, but how many of these things were there, and how could they be stopped?

He glanced around himself. Starfire, looking awfully confused, was flying a few feet from the ground to his left and was throwing a starbolt here and there at the mechanical objects.

"Starfire!" he called to her. He immediately had her attention. "Don't shoot at them! They explode!"

"Rob, what are these things?" Cyborg said uneasily, appearing by Robin's side. He had his sonic cannon drawn, but had not yet used it.

From the corner of his eye, Robin spotted another moving thing. Focusing in on it, he saw that it appeared to be a little metallic lizard type thing, making it's way up the wall of a nearby craft store.

"More of Rancid's animals. I don't know how he's controlling them, but there might be hundreds of them in the city!" Robin cried. The two boys stood on the pavement with a feeling of helplessness, looking on as the tiny creature stopped for a moment on the storefront, then combusted.

Cyborg ran to the building. "It's too high up!" he called, watching the fire with panic as it spidered across the face of the building, many feet over his head.

"Cyborg, the fire hydrant!" Robin offered. Quickly, Cyborg kicked the top off of the closest hydrant, and a geyser of water immediately shot up. Looking around, he then hustled to the middle of the street, picking up a manhole cover easily and jogging with it back to the broken fire hydrant. Cyborg positioned the manhole covering so that it deflected the water to hit the blazing face of the building. After a moment, the flames were put out, and all that remained from the fire was the charred wall of the building and grey smoke, wafting up to the sky.

"Nice work, Cy," Robin said approvingly of his friend. Flashing him a thumbs-up, he and Cyborg turned and rushed off.

They spent a while putting out the fires that had already started, using any means that they could. Robin came to the conclusion that Rancid couldn't have an unlimited number of these little robots, and eventually, they would run out. Until then, if the Titans could just manage to take care of the fires that had already started, Rancid's offensive position would run itself dry. Sure enough, ever so slowly, the number of new fires began to lessen.

"Hey Rob, you better come see this," Cyborg suddenly called to his leader.

Robin was by his side in an instant, peering down at what Cyborg was staring at.

"I accidentally stepped on it," Cyborg said, a bit confused.

There on the pavement lay a pile of metal bits, sparking every few seconds, but completely harmless.

Robin grinned broadly. "Cy, I think you've just discovered how to disable these things."

Cyborg smiled.

Within a half hour, the three Titans had managed to track down every one of the already dwindling number of lizard-like robots, and equipped with the knowledge of how to easily diffuse them, they were able to quickly destroy the tiny animals without allowing more fires to ignite. Certain that the situation was under control, Robin placed a call to the JCPD, and fire trucks were summoned as a precaution. As soon as he had finished this, his communicator buzzed. He flipped open the screen, and saw that Raven's communicator had sent out the signal, but she had ended the transmission before he could speak.

Instantly, he was worried. "Cyborg, Starfire! Raven and Beast Boy might be in trouble."

"I've got their coordinates locked. They're not far from us," Cyborg said, and the three of them took off in the direction of the signal.

TT

While their teammates were busy putting out the fires, less than half a mile away, Beast Boy and an exhausted Raven were winding through the back alleys of the city. Beast Boy, still in wolf form, turned a corner, and ran straight into a dead end alley. He stood there sniffing for a moment, but it was clear that he had lost the scent. A moment later, a very out of breath Raven caught up with him, and put her hands to her knees, breathing deeply.

"Lost him?" Raven asked between gasps for air.

Beast Boy changed back to his human form. "Yeah," he sighed. "You ok?" he inquired in concern.

Raven nodded, but Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yes. We're not here to assess my condition, we're here to track down Rancid," Raven bit back.

Beast Boy looked stunned for a moment. "Fine," he retorted, "Just trying to be nice."

Raven continued to breath deeply for a moment, then straightened. "I'm sorry for snapping," she replied. "So what now?"

"I guess we'll have to report back to Robin, and man, he's not gunna be happy," Beast Boy said sadly.

"We tried," Raven said, "What more can we-"

She was cut off by sudden harsh, raucous laughter, coming from the top of a building high above their heads. Rancid. He leapt from the roof of the edifice, landing carefully on the fire escape of the building, then slid neatly to the ground. He skidded to a stop at the mouth of the alley, effectively trapping in the two Titans.

Now, normally this would hardly phase Raven, but seeing as how calling up her powers to levitate away or even put up a force field was out of the question, she began to panic.

Rancid chuckled, noticing her fear. "What's th' matter, missy? Your powers still fried?"

Raven blinked. She opened her mouth to give some smart reply, but Rancid quickly went on. "Ya know, I'm not as dumb as you all think I am. Did'ja think old Rancid couldn't tell that every time you chanted your magic words earlier today nothing happened?" He guffawed loudly, as if he'd said something particularly witty.

"What are you doing to the city?" Beast Boy spoke up, doing his best to sound harsh.

Rancid brushed him off. "Ya know," he drawled, "Fighting you little kiddies has taught me one thing: there's power in numbers. I just thought I'd even the playin' field a little," Rancid gloated gleefully. "I might not stand a chance fighting five to one, but when it's you five against an entire army of robots, you kids stand no chance!"

"I haven't seen any robots," Raven said uneasily glancing about.

Rancid stopped laughing. "That's 'cause they're tiny," he said matter-of-factly.

"They're baby robots then?" Beast Boy said with a taunting voice and a gleeful laugh.

Rancid fumed. "No, they're not! I made them tiny so you couldn't catch them!" he retorted angrily.

"Well, you did a great job, because I haven't even seen them," Beast Boy chortled.

Raven carefully drew her hands underneath her cloak. Maybe she couldn't take down Rancid, and Beast Boy might not be able to alone, but perhaps if the rest of the team came they could surprise him from behind. She just had to reach them on her communicator…

"What do you think's been starting the fires?" Rancid yelled, throwing up his arms.

'_That's it_,' Raven thought. '_Keep him preoccupied, Beast Boy_.' Raven tried to keep her actions unnoticeable from Johnny's perspective as she slowly took hold of her communicator and flipped it open. Dozens of uses had trained her fingers to use the keys without looking at them. Raven sent out a signal to Robin, shutting her communicator before he answered to keep the thing from making noise and blowing her cover.

Beast Boy must have picked up that she was sending for help, or maybe he was just enjoying taunting Johnny, because he edged over to the other side of the alley, effectively taking Rancid's attention from her area as he continued to tease the villain.

"Well, if your robot army is so great, why hasn't it destroyed the city?" Beast Boy called.

"It is right now," Rancid retorted.

Beast Boy laughed condescendingly. "Those tiny little fires aren't going to stop the Teen Titans!"

Johnny grinned evilly. "As we speak the rest of your team is struggling to save their city from my newest creations."

"Correction," said a low voice from a shadow-cloaked figure behind Johnny Rancid. He spun around and saw that Robin was crouched behind him. "His team," Robin finished, "Has already foiled your latest pathetic scheme."

"Yeah, man," Cyborg boomed, as he and Starfire joined their leader, effectively forming a circle around Rancid and cutting off his escape. "Next time build some lizard bombs that can't be disabled by stepping on 'em."

Rancid's face fell. His mighty air was replaced with one of panic as he gulped, immediately on defense mode. He peered around, looking for an escape. Without warning, he turned and sprinted to Raven's right.

"Raven, take him down!" Robin called.

Raven knew that she wouldn't be able to summon up her powers, so she did the only thing she could think of on a moment's notice: she put herself in his path. It didn't take a genius to realize what would happen next. Shamelessly Rancid ran full force into the girl, sending her tumbling to the ground as he darted by without slowing. She landed sharply on her back, her skull audibly cracking on the ground.

"Raven!" Beast Boy called, rushing to her side. Raven tried to raise her head, but she found it incredibly difficult and painful to move.

Robin growled in anger. "Titans," he barked, "Get Rancid!"

Starfire and Cyborg had gone in a heartbeat, Cyborg wielding his sonic cannon and Starfire offering friendly requests for Rancid's surrender while throwing starbolts. Robin followed them.

Beast Boy knelt by Raven's side. "Raven?" he said cautiously.

Raven was having trouble focusing her eyes on anything. The foggy world was tilting. She tried to sit, but was only rewarded with a shock of pain that hit her head like a truck. She groaned, bringing a hand her skull.

"Raven," Beast Boy said, his voice frightened. "Why aren't you healing yourself?"

Raven forced herself to ignore the pulsing pain and focused her attention and energy on summoning her healing powers. She concentrated on healing her skull. More slowly than usual, she felt the pain alleviating as the offended area repaired itself. She brought a shaking hand to the back of her head, and found it to be matted with blood or rainwater, but otherwise healed.

Beast Boy wasn't quite sure what to do. For some reason he had never quite understood if you aren't supposed to touch a wounded person, or if that was just a person with broken bones. Regardless, he felt rather useless as his friend attempted to fix herself and he sat silently next to her.

Raven grinned feebly, trying to show Beast Boy that she was all right. Cautiously, he helped her sit, supporting her back with one of his arms. He let her rest the back of her head gently on his shoulder and made an effort not to move.

"You alright now, Raven?" he asked quietly.

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

The two waited there for just a minute or two longer, until the rest of their team returned. One look at their faces told Beast Boy and Raven that they had not been successful.

"He escaped," Robin said angrily. "He jumped into the sewer, because _somebody_ forgot to replace a manhole covering."

"Hey, don't get crabby, Rob," Cyborg warned. "We were pretty successful tonight, even if we didn't catch Rancid. We destroyed his newest robots, and brought his pride down a couple hundred notches."

"This is true," Starfire added, walking to stand by Robin and laying a hand on his shoulder. "Do not be angry for what be did not accomplish, but be happy for the success we enjoyed."

Robin sighed. "But it's Rancid. He's a petty criminal, and we should have been able to take him down." Robin seemed to remember that Raven had been hurt, and knelt by her side. He laid a hand on her shoulder. "How is your head, Raven?" He asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Raven said. She swallowed, then shrugged off his hand and shakily stood with Beast Boy's support. "I apologize for letting him get away."

"Don't worry about that now. Let's just get home," Robin replied. "Titans, let's go."

Raven squared her shoulders and drew up her cowl. The world was spinning around her, but she refused assistance as the team headed back to where the T-Car was parked.

The ride home was silent. Robin took his R-Cycle, but the rest of the team was driven by Cyborg in the T-Car.

As soon as the team arrived home, Robin took Raven aside. "I need to talk with you," he said discreetly.

Raven nodded her consent, and allowed herself to be led to the common room. They took seats on the large semi-circular couch in front of the biggest window.

"Raven, we've all noticed that your powers have been acting strangely lately. What's wrong?" Robin asked in concern, catching her gaze and holding it.

Raven looked at him sadly. "I'm not ready to tell you yet, Robin," she replied softly.

He nodded grimly. He hadn't expected a straight answer. "We're all worried about you. I'm sorry for forcing you to come along with us on this last mission. I should have known that you wouldn't be able to fight."

"It's not your fault," Raven assured him.

"When will you be able to tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

"Soon," she responded. "But first, I need to speak with Beast Boy."

"Beast Boy?" Robin wondered out loud.

Raven knew that he would try to figure the situation out on his own. "Robin," she said, "Before you assume anything, let me assure you that neither of us did anything at all compromising for the team. I just… need to speak with him."

Robin nodded. "I guess I'll leave you to talk with him then," he said, rising from his seat. Raven nodded her appreciation, and Robin walked from the room. Upon opening the door, he found Beast Boy pacing about the entrance.

As soon as the changeling saw that Robin had caught him there, Beast Boy jumped, looking a bit guilty.

"Good night, Beast Boy," Robin said tiredly, walking past his teammate before he could stammer an excuse.

"Night, Rob," Beast Boy responded, and then hurried into the common room as Robin continued to walk steadily down the hall.

As the doors closed behind him, Beast Boy saw that Raven was sitting on the couch. He went to sit next to her. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, two feet or so apart, Beast Boy blissfully ignorant and Raven feeling quite tired and pathetic. She continued to stare out the window overlooking the city, praying that somehow she would know what to say. It was Beast Boy who first spoke.

"You wanna finish telling me what's wrong?" he asked.

Raven swallowed, then turned her body to face her teammate. "Yes," she croaked, then cleared her throat. She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, willing down her nervousness and eager to get this over with. "Like I was saying before the mission," she began anxiously, "I know why my powers have been refusing to work lately."

"Why?" Beast Boy asked quietly, his eyes locking innocently with hers.

"Each child born on Azarath has a curse put on him or her," she replied, doing her best to match his gaze. "The curse states that if the child does not marry before his or her seventeenth birthday, the child will die."

Beast Boy's eyes widened. Well, he definitely hadn't seen that coming. Not by a long shot. That certainly explained why Raven had been acting so weirdly over the last few days.

"No way," he whispered. "So you've got to…"

Raven nodded grimly. "I have to get married. Soon."

"To whom?" Beast Boy said, his voice still very quiet.

Raven attempted a wry smile. "Well, why do you think that I had to speak with you first?"

At this, Beast Boy paled quite a bit, and his jaw just about hit the floor. He gulped loudly, and looked like he could pass out at any moment.

"M-me?" he stammered, obviously panicked. His gaze locked with hers again. "You mean… if we don't… then you'll… die?" he squeaked out the last word, wringing his hands in his lap.

Raven nodded sadly, watching his discomfort and feeling terrible.

"When do we have to…?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"I must marry before my birthday, which is in less than eight days," she replied somberly.

"But why? There's no other way?" he wondered, feeling utterly lost and confused. What on earth was he supposed to do? He wanted to help out his friend, but by _marrying_ her? Weren't they too young for that? Besides, they didn't even love each other!

"There is no other way," Raven confirmed.

The room was silent for a long time. Beast Boy was engrossed in his shock, and Raven bit at her bottom lip in anxiousness.

"This is so sudden," he said meekly, still in a daze. He shook his head in utter disbelief.

"I'm sorry," Raven replied.

Beast Boy eyed her questioningly. "It's not your fault. But," he hesitated, "Why me?"

Raven closed her eyes. "This isn't a normal situation," she stated.

"Tell me about it," he murmured.

"No, I mean as far as the curse goes," Raven replied. "I was supposed to marry a boy from Azarath, but there is no one left. Since I'm half human, that means I have to marry someone from Earth instead. The person has to be seventeen and I have to have known him for a few years." Raven sighed. "And, congratulations, you fit the bill."

Beast Boy stared at her weakly. "I can't believe this," he said.

"I just found out yesterday," Raven sighed regretfully, "I wish that I -- we -- had known sooner."

"Like years sooner," Beast Boy agreed.

"But there is some good news."

Beast Boy's ears perked up. "What?"

"According to the law, we only have to remain married for two years," Raven said.

His face clouded over. "You mean, then we would get a... divorce?" He spoke the word 'divorce' in a whisper, like it was some sort of obscenity.

Raven nodded. "You don't seem very happy about that."

"Well, I'm not," Beast Boy said strongly. "Marriage is a big deal, Raven. Don't just ask me to deal with it for a couple of years then end it like it doesn't matter."

Raven frowned. "There really aren't any other alternatives."

"Rae," he replied sadly, "I know you don't," he hesitated again, "Love me, but still. Do you know what you're asking me to do here?"

"Of course," Raven said regretfully, "And that's why I'm sorry."

Beast Boy felt like he was in a dream. A very, _very_ bizarre dream. This was just a little bit too much to grasp. He felt ashamed, and slightly dirty, at the very prospect of marrying Raven, just to divorce her in two years, even if these were special circumstances. Friends didn't do that sort of thing. He had always been taught that marriage was sacred, and it was never something to rush into or leave. And how would this change the team? What if word got out to the media he and Raven were getting married at seventeen? One thing was for sure; this would drastically change the Titans. Beast Boy was quite happy with exactly how the Titans were at present, and he would hate for things to change.

Was it selfish to feel like that? He knew that it was, but there was nothing he could do to change his opinion. Raven needed him big time, and shouldn't he feel at least a little bit honored that she was relying on him? But, by far, the most important thing to remember was that if he didn't agree to marry her, she would die. No, he _couldn't_ let her down like that, even if it cost him his contenting normal life. And, as is the proper mindset of any superhero, Beast Boy had no qualms that even though they were not exactly the closest of buddies, her life was just as important as his own, if not more so. This principle of selflessness was one of the biggest and most difficult that he had ever learned.

Beast Boy took a deep breath. "Raven?" he said, surprised at how steady his voice was.

"Yes?" Raven replied nervously.

"I'll marry you," he decided at last, and offered her a halfhearted grin, meaning to comfort her.

Raven returned the smile, and she sighed to herself with relief. It was official. At least she would live.

She felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to say. Should she thank him? Apologize? God, he looked so worried, with good reason too.

Without fully realizing what she was doing, Raven scooted close to him on the couch and put her arms around her teammate with gratitude.

She felt Beast Boy stiffen in surprise for a moment at her gesture, then relax and slowly return the hug, wrapping his long arms around his fiancée and patting her back. Raven felt a strange sensation in her stomach. It wasn't exactly butterflies, but she felt oddly excited. Raven closed her eyes, letting her chin rest on his right shoulder while she thanked Azar for Beast Boy's sacrifice.

"Thank you," Raven whispered in his ear, and she truly meant it.

"Don't mention it," Beast Boy said lightly, pulling away. He suddenly gulped, the gravity of the situation hitting him again. "We've still gotta tell the others, don't we?"

Raven nodded. "But that can wait until the morning," she told him, moving herself back on the couch again so that they weren't quite so close.

"That's fine with me," he replied, happy to put off what would certainly be quite an awkward meeting. He still had to learn more about this whole marriage issue from Raven first anyway.

Beast Boy cleared his throat. "So, uh, since we'll be married and all, does that mean-"

Raven silenced him by putting up a hand. "Nothing major has to change," she told him.

"And that means we'll still… ya know, sleep in separate beds and all?" Beast Boy asked, his face heating up.

"Of course," Raven said. "At least, as long as that decision is consensual."

Beast Boy couldn't help but feel a little bit downhearted about that, but he really couldn't help himself. After all, no sane, red-blooded male is happy to go into a marriage expecting abstinence. Of course, he kept in mind that this was _Raven,_ but still, wasn't it kind of, well, just wrong somehow to be married and not… do married things? But, hey, maybe that was jus his teenage sex drive talking. Realistically, though, they were kind of young, and how bad for the team would it be if Raven were to become pregnant? God, if this whole marriage situation wasn't enough to harm the competence of the Titans then _that_ certainly would.

Beast Boy must have been thinking for too long with that oddly hesitant look on his face. "The decision _is_ consensual, correct?" Raven asked, a hint of unease lacing her words.

He looked at her for a split second. Man, this was one hell of a sacrifice. "Right," he said, but Raven would have to be a fool to miss the irresolution betrayed in his tone.

"Beast Boy," Raven said seriously, "You know that neither of us is ready for a relationship like that. Maybe if we were five years older and not Titans." Raven swallowed. '_Wait, what the heck did I just say_?' Raven thought to herself. "And in love," she added hurriedly. "But we're not."

Beast Boy nodded feebly. "I know," he said. "But there's plenty of time to change our minds," Beast Boy remarked, flashing her that trademark toothy grin of his.

Raven smirked. "In your dreams."

"I dunno, Raven. Even in my dreams, I never saw this coming," he admitted.

"Me neither," Raven agreed.

Even if they did not voice it, both Titans were scared senseless. They were frightened of the change that this forced marriage would bring and worried that the team might not be able to cope. As they sat there on the sofa for what was left of the night, just talking about what was to come, neither of them felt prepared to marry. As the sun was just beginning to rise over the bay, they finally went their separate ways, Beast Boy feeling fearful because of the massive change in their lives that was coming, and Raven content that at least she would live.

--

I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon. Make sure you review if you have anything to say.

Thank you for reading.


	4. Breaking the News

A

**A.N.** Greetings, my friends! Yes, it is finally summer break and I am immensely enjoying the gigantic increase of free time. I look forward to supplying more frequent updates over these next few months.

Chapter four of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Breaking the News"

It was after noon before either Raven or Beast Boy emerged from their respective bedrooms the next morning.

Beast Boy was quite a wreck, his hair mussed and his clothing wrinkled. He hadn't slept at all, but honestly, who could blame him? His mind was too cluttered to rest, and he had spent the majority of the early morning hours pacing around his room like some sort of caged animal.

It was obvious to him that Raven was attempting not to turn this marriage issue into a big deal, but that was something he simply did not think was possible. Early on, Beast Boy's parents and mentors had instilled in him the idea that commitment was not to be treated lightly. He had changed so much since he was a kid, but that was one lesson he would never let go.

Perhaps he would have been able to warm up to the issue if he hadn't been caught completely off guard by Raven's proposal. Beast Boy had never really taken the time to consider such things. After all, he was barely seventeen, an age where relationships with the opposite sex don't usually progress past dating. The truth of the matter was that Beast Boy still thought of himself as a kid, even if he was beginning to near the end of his teenage years, and marriage was _supposed_ to be for adults.

A little after noon, Beast Boy had given up on getting any rest and decided that he was wasting his time mulling over the same answerless questions. He showered, dressed quickly, and then took a minute to fix his thick green hair to his satisfaction. Once he completed this, he sighed and stopped to luxuriously stretch his sore, tired body. He really wasn't in a rush to meet his friends, for obvious reasons. He could almost see their shocked expressions already. Grimacing to himself, Beast Boy headed for the kitchen to fix himself some lunch. He wasn't exactly hungry, but he couldn't think of anything better to do.

Beast Boy sauntered through the vacant halls, humming a tune to himself as he walked. He arrived at the Tower's kitchen and the door slid open in front of him. The changeling casually stepped inside. Raven was sitting alone at the kitchen table, half of an apple lying on a napkin beside her. She had her nose buried in a book, but she glanced up to see him walk in.

"Hey," he said amiably.

"Hello," Raven replied wearily. She frowned slightly to herself, mildly annoyed to have her solitude interrupted.

She had spent the morning meditating, after parting from Beast Boy earlier that same day. Once her initial happiness from his agreement to marry her (which of course stemmed only from the relief that she would not die within the week) had worn off, Raven felt her attitude reverting to its characteristic melancholy. His acceptance of her plea for help had only been the very beginning. They now had so much more to deal with, so much that Raven did not feel like facing.

One of the only things that presently made Raven glad was her realization that she had not had another attack since she proposed to Beast Boy. She could only hope that because she was complying with the law, she would not experience any more of the painful punishment from the curse. Even this, however, was not enough to keep her spirits up.

Raven had not left her room much earlier than Beast Boy. While taking a walk through the giant Tower, she had found Cyborg working in the garage and he had told her that Robin and Starfire were out somewhere in the city. She wasn't surprised. The two had been spending a large amount of their time together lately.

Raven exhaled loudly. She had hoped for a quiet afternoon. She needed more time to think and be alone, but knew that she couldn't now simply get up and leave. She didn't have the heart to snub Beast Boy right then. He was sacrificing so much for her that she couldn't bring herself to treat him unkindly. The least she could do was be supportive.

She watched him turn and walk to the refrigerator, pulling out a carton of soymilk before taking a box of cereal from a cupboard. She continued to watch him as he poured himself a bowlful of the sugary cereal and then proceeded to drown his meal in soymilk before replacing the carton in the fridge. Bringing herself from her sleep-deprived gazing, Raven turned her eyes back to the book in her hands so that Beast Boy wouldn't catch her looking at him.

Beast Boy soon sat down at the table, immediately digging into his meal. He glanced up at Raven for a moment. "Where's everyone else?" he inquired, mouth still partially full of wet cereal.

"Cyborg is in the garage, and who knows where the other two are," she replied.

"We've gotta tell 'em today, don't we?" he asked unhappily.

She nodded, and the two sat in silence for a while longer. Raven made an effort to continue reading her book, but couldn't concentrate to save her life. Sighing to herself, she quickly finished her apple and threw out the core, returning to the table and crossing her arms over her closed book.

"Are your powers working yet?" Beast Boy wondered, already downing the last spoonfuls of his cereal.

"They still aren't," Raven replied. "I don't expect them to return until after we marry." Her eyebrows knit together. It felt incredibly strange to say that word, especially to Beast Boy. She supposed it would get easier with time, but so far, it was still pretty weird.

Beast Boy nodded slowly, his expression somewhat thoughtful. "So that means the… wedding should be soon."

"That would make sense. I'm practically useless to the team without my powers," Raven responded sadly.

"So what kind of wedding is this gunna be?" Beast Boy asked. "I mean, are we inviting people?"

Raven shook her head. "This situation can't get leaked to the press. They'd have a field day."

Beast Boy grinned. "Totally," he agreed. "And I don't think this is a particularly role model-y thing to do."

"Right. We should keep the wedding simple, just a private service and the exchanging of vows."

"Who's going to marry us?" Beast Boy asked.

"Robin," Raven replied, her voice calm.

Beast Boy grimaced slightly. "I hope he agrees," he said uncertainly.

"He has to," Raven said resolutely.

The room was quiet as Beast Boy finished drinking the soymilk at the bottom of his cereal bowl. Realizing that she was doing nothing than stare at Beast Boy as he drank, Raven blushed lightly and wordlessly stood to leave.

As she walked to the door, book in hand, Beast Boy called to her.

"Hey Rae?" he said quietly. Raven turned around to face him. "We'll get through this," he assured the girl, offering her a smile.

Raven nodded in return and left the room. She rarely knew where he got his wacky ideas.

TT

It was mid-afternoon when Robin and Starfire returned to the Tower, grinning and talking to each other, blissfully oblivious of the rest of the world. Beast Boy and Raven were waiting for the two of them in the common room, as they had grown bored of pretending not to be completely anxious about telling the rest of the team and opted to wait apprehensively together.

Robin and Starfire finally realized the presence of their teammates when Beast Boy cleared his throat loudly.

Robin's eyes snapped up from Starfire's, and his grin faded from his face as his gaze flitted between Raven and Beast Boy. Raven sat on the common room couch and Beast Boy was leaning against the back of it, not a yard away from the sorceress.

"Do you two realize that you're standing in the same room and you're not fighting?" Robin inquired, almost completely serious.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not, we all can act civilly when the time calls for it."

"News to me," Robin said with a shrug, preparing to exit the common room.

Beast Boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced at Raven and swallowed. "Uh, Rob? Raven and I kinda wanted to talk with you."

"Actually, we wish to address the whole team," Raven corrected him.

Robin blinked. "Alright," he slowly consented. "Right now?"

"The sooner the better," Beast Boy answered quickly.

"Is something wrong, friends?" Starfire asked with concern.

"Beast Boy and I will explain everything to the team when we're all together," Raven tiredly replied.

Robin shrugged. "I guess I'll go get Cy," he stated, leaving the room unhurriedly with Starfire still by his side.

TT

Unsurprisingly, it took quite a while for the whole team to congregate. For some reason, the Titans could assemble in the blink of an eye when the Tower alarm went off, but when the Titans were off-duty, casual meetings were all but impossible to pull off. A full hour later, all five of the Teen Titans had finally gathered in the Tower's common room. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg were seated near the center of the semi-circular couch, while Raven and Beast Boy sat on either extreme of it.

"So," Robin said, calling the informal meeting into session, "I believe Raven and Beast Boy have something to tell us."

The team's attention was focused on Raven as she cleared her throat and briefly closed her eyes, willing up every ounce of courage she possessed before she spoke. "I'm sure all of you have noticed that my powers have not been working well lately," she said nervously. "I recently found out the cause of that problem."

Raven took a second to glance up at Beast Boy. He was sitting with an anxious expression on his face, fidgeting his hands subconsciously in his lap while his eyes remained glued to the floor.

She turned her attention back to her other three teammates, who were waiting for her to continue. "When children are born on Azarath," Raven began again, "They have a unique sort of spell, well, curse placed upon them."

"It is malevolent, then?" Robin attempted to clarify, his arms crossed casually across his chest as he leaned back against the couch. Apparently he was still stuck in leader mode.

"Potentially," Raven admitted vaguely. Raven cleared her throat quietly again, forcing down her nerves. "This curse requires each child to comply with a certain Azarathian law, with the penalty of a rather unpleasant death if one chooses to disobey."

"Are you going to die, friend Raven?" Starfire asked, eyes wide in horror.

"No, I am not," Raven said confidently, meeting her alien friend's gaze. "Because Beast Boy has agreed to… help me."

"So, what's the curse?" Cyborg asked slowly.

"The curse was put in place to ensure the healthy growth of the Azarathian population. It requires every teenager on Azarath to marry before their seventeenth birthday, and if the person does not comply, he or she will slowly die." Raven spoke rapidly, and when she had finished, all she could do was stare pensively as her three friends processed the overload of new information.

"You're… getting married?" Robin asked in shock.

"I must before my seventeenth birthday," Raven replied.

"Your seventeenth birthday is coming up really soon," Cyborg stated, wide eyed.

"It's in a week," Raven said.

"You said before that you're not going to die because Beast Boy agreed to help you," Robin recalled quickly. "You're marrying Beast Boy!" he yelled, the realization of this shooting through him like a bolt of lightening. He sat up quickly, immediately understanding her past unease of divulging her quandary to him.

All at once, four pairs of eyes turned to Beast Boy, who until this point had been doing his best to sink into the couch. At the sudden turn of attention, Beast Boy blushed furiously as he avoided the eyes of his friends.

"Um, yeah," he admitted. "I just found out this morning."

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg continued to stare, still utterly speechless, between their two friends.

"You're getting married," Robin said again at last, as if hoping that the re-vocalization of this previously established fact would help him comprehend it.

"This is… astonishing news," Starfire agreed hesitantly.

"The grass stain and Raven," Cyborg said quietly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yes," Raven said in mild exasperation. "Beast Boy and I are getting married within the week," she repeated. "However," she added, "Although marriage is a very significant event on Earth, this particular marriage does not need to be anything more than a simple exchanging of vows. Nothing major has to change, and the marriage can be terminated in two years."

"That's when a marriage on Azarath is first eligible for official ending," Beast Boy added miserably.

"You say that nothing has to change," Robin said, still dazed, "Do you actually think that this won't effect the team?"

"I remain optimistic," Raven replied carefully.

"On my planet, marriage is a beautiful and holy thing," Starfire said quietly. "On Tamaran we do not speak of the betrothal process quite so flippantly."

"Star's right. Any way you slice it, getting married is a big deal," Cyborg agreed.

"That's what I told her," Beast Boy added.

Raven shot the changeling an irritated look, realizing that she had just been put alone on the defensive. "The team can't afford to make my marriage to Beast Boy a big issue," she reasoned.

"Please, friends," Starfire spoke up, "This news has come as quite a shock, but should we not be happy that our friends are to wed?"

"But they don't want to," Robin answered for the two teens in question.

"It is the only way," Raven agreed.

"So why didn't we find out about this situation sooner?" Robin asked, still visibly vexed.

"I have been experiencing difficulties with my powers for weeks," Raven admitted, "But I kept putting off looking for answers. I didn't want to entertain the thought that my condition was anything serious. I figured that the problem would go away on its own, but it continued to get worse and I finally went to Nevermore yesterday."

"That is, you went into your mind and learned that you must marry our friend Beast Boy?" Starfire wondered.

Raven nodded, doubtful that the alien quite grasped the odd concept.

"I don't understand," Robin said. "If you were not aware of this marriage curse, how come the information about it was in your mind?"

"I was aware that the curse existed, but I did not think that it had been put upon me at birth because my destiny was to die before I was of marrying age," Raven clarified. "And I only needed to visit Nevermore to learn about the situation because I possess an emotion, whom Cyborg and Beast Boy have briefly met on a past occasion, known as Knowledge. Knowledge is the personification of my intelligence, as she recalls all I have ever read or studied. You could say that she serves as my own library in Nevermore, retaining all of the information I have been exposed to. On Azarath, although I was young, I spent quite a bit of time studying under the leadership of the priests and priestesses, and the law was a large part of my curriculum. Because so much time has passed since I studied the laws of Azarath, I needed to meditate and visit Knowledge to recover the information that remained hidden in my mind."

"How can you be positive that there isn't another way around this?" Cyborg asked.

"Azarathian law is known for being essentially airtight. Any and all loopholes were intentionally added to protect special cases, such as myself. There are no errors," Raven explained.

"That's why she's marrying me. There's a loophole that says because there aren't any seventeen year old guys left on Azarath, Raven could marry someone from Earth because she's half human," Beast Boy added.

"But why Beast Boy?" Robin inquired.

"The law stipulates that I must have known the person for at least three years prior to the wedding, and the boy must have turned seventeen before I do." Raven answered.

"Then why not Cyborg or myself?" Robin asked.

"Beast Boy was chosen for me, and it is not my place to question why," Raven replied firmly.

"Then we may rest assured that this marriage will be a success, for it has been ordained by the supreme beings of Raven's home planet!" Starfire exclaimed joyfully.

"It is apparently what the priests thought was best," Raven agreed skeptically.

"Glorious!" Starfire responded. "Then friends Beast Boy and Raven will take the sacred oaths of marriage, and soon there will be little half-Beast Boy, half-Raven bumgorfs with whom to share our happy home!"

"I'm pretty sure that would be one of the major changes Raven already pointed out doesn't need to be made," Robin replied while Raven and Beast Boy fought futilely not to blush.

"Then what is the purpose of their marriage?" Starfire asked naïvely.

"To bear children would be the primary purpose in any normal Azarathian marriage," Raven reluctantly agreed. "But that will _not_ be happening in this situation," she said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let's get that in writing," Robin muttered under his breath.

"So," Cyborg began enthusiastically, only too happy to get away from the awkward subject, "Who on Earth is gunna officiate a wedding between two teenagers?"

"Robin's got to," Beast Boy replied, "Since he's the leader of this team."

The four members of Robin's team turned to look at him simultaneously. He raised an eyebrow, which lifted a corner of his mask. "I've got to?" he said dubiously, restating Beast Boy's frank comment.

"You're the only person here who can," Beast Boy offered.

"And if I refuse?" Robin inquired.

"Then Beast Boy and I will have to get creative," Raven threatened.

"I'm sure we could find somewhere else to tie the knot," Beast Boy added with mock-innocence. "Las Vegas, anyone?"

"We're just trying to keep this from the press, Robin," Raven assured him kindly, "But if you'd rather have two members of your team go gallivanting across the country to get married and have that show up in the news…"

"They've got ya there," Cyborg declared, shaking his head.

"Not helping, Cy," Robin said, obviously perturbed.

"I understand that you don't want to do this, Robin," Raven assured him. "But if I am not married before my birthday, I will die. Beast Boy and I must go through with this wedding, and as our leader you have the responsibility to marry us."

The team silently watched Robin as he thought through the situation, mask narrowed. At last, he sighed tiredly and threw up his hands.

"Alright. Fine. If it's the only way, I'll marry you two," Robin surrendered, the full reality of the situation still not having fully sunk in. In fact, he still wasn't entirely sure that this wasn't some sort of bizarre nightmare.

"Oh, this is wonderful news!" Starfire exclaimed. "And when will the marriage occur?"

"Six days would be the absolute longest we can wait," Raven replied. "However, I do not think I will regain my powers until I have submitted to the curse and been wed."

"The sooner the better, then," Beast Boy said.

Cyborg and Robin turned to look at the changeling oddly.

"For the team, obviously," Beast Boy hurriedly added.

"The Titans can get by with Raven out of commission for a while," Robin stated. "I'm tempted to delay the wedding as much as possible. We all need time to process this."

"Yes, it is a good plan to wait, for the wedding celebration preparations will take quite a while to complete," Starfire said.

"Actually, Beast Boy and I already decided that the wedding will be low key," Raven declared.

"I do not understand this phrase, 'low key,'" Starfire admitted, her expression slightly clouded.

"It just means that they don't want it to be a big deal," Cyborg explained. "You know, no reception or decorations or--"

"No!" Starfire exclaimed, and her sudden outburst caught everyone off guard, causing her teammates to flinch. "No," she said again, her voice more under control but still quite emphatic. "We cannot allow two of our own teammates to join in holy matrimony without properly celebrating the joyous occasion!"

"Starfire, it isn't an occasion that needs to be celebrated," Raven attempted to reason with the adamant alien.

"Nonsense," Starfire insisted. "This wedding will be glorious, for even if friends Beast Boy and Raven are not glad to be uniting, their marriage day must be a treasured memory."

"Remember that we _don't_ want the media to catch wind of this marriage, Star," Robin cut in.

Starfire appeared thoughtful for a moment. "Can we not even invite our good friends the Titans East to take part in the festivities?"

"I don't think that letting anyone outside the Tower know about the wedding would be smart for now," Robin said. "The other Titans will figure it out soon enough, or we can let them know once the wedding is out of the way."

"Then the celebration will be quite small," Starfire observed somewhat sadly.

"There doesn't need to be a celebration at all, Starfire," Raven insisted strongly.

"No, you are wrong, friend Raven," Starfire said firmly, matching the half-demon's steely gaze, "I will not allow this marriage to pass without proper recognition and festivity."

"Don't forget that we still have our jobs to do," Robin stated. "And our roles as Titans cannot be compromised for the sake of… party planning." He finished the last two words like they left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

"My friends," Starfire said kindly, "Do not worry. I will gladly take upon myself the role as the planner of this occasion."

"I'm not sure if that's such a great idea," Raven said uneasily.

"Friend Raven, as the bride, you must aid me in the preparations!" the jubilant alien insisted. "The issue has been settled," Starfire announced before her friends could get a word in edgewise.

"Works for me," Cyborg shrugged.

"Then what day is the wedding going to be?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin frowned. "Six days from now. That's this coming Saturday," he decided. "I could reschedule an extra training session and combat practice earlier in the week to clear up that day, but we will remain on call incase the city is attacked."

The team nodded their agreement.

Raven sighed. She was quite relieved that the issue of her marriage had been accepted relatively well. It appeared that the wedding would not be treated as trivially as she had hoped, but that seemed to be completely out of her hands. The situation still seemed so surreal. It was difficult to fathom that this was actually happening, that she would actually be marrying Beast Boy in less than a week.

The Titans broke apart their unofficial meeting a few minutes later, the team members going their separate ways.

Cyborg went back in the direction of the garage on habit, since he was still too stunned at what had happened to decide where else to walk. He had a seriously bad feeling about this whole deal. Seriously, BB, the kid who still pouted when he lost at video games was _marrying_ Raven, the always serious, brooding demoness. His little girl. Could it possibly get any weirder? He thought not.

Starfire hurried away from the common room, eager to begin her planning for what would surely be the most glorious, five attendee wedding to ever occur. There was so much to do in only a matter of six days. She could hardly wait to begin! She would first need to talk with Raven, in order to better understand exactly how a traditional Earth wedding differed from a Tamaranean wedding. Friends Cyborg and Robin had been hesitant to accept the news of the betrothal of Beast Boy and Raven, but everyone would soon realize the great joy of this occasion. It was her duty as a friend to make sure of that.

Still feeling shocked, Robin left immediately to go beat the stuffing out of a punching bag in the training room. He was completely blown away at how much the Titans would be affected based on this one event. He never saw it coming, and could only hope that the wedding would not radically hurt his team. He had a seriously bad feeling that this would not end well. Beast Boy and Raven were far too young, and it would be nearly impossible to keep this quiet forever. What would happen when other people found out, when the media or other Titans or Batman figured out that was going on? He took the Titans' responsibility as role models very seriously, and this marriage could compromise the respect the world had for his team.

Beast Boy was glad that the Titans' meeting had gone as well as it did. He certainly had not expected the marriage to be accepted so relatively painlessly, and Starfire even seemed to be pretty excited. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all, as long as the whole team was behind Raven and himself. Besides, if they all went about this maturely, what's the worst that could happen? Well, he really didn't want that to be answered. He was still worried to death and somehow sensed that this wouldn't be as simple as it seemed. Could a marriage really be as meaningless as a few spoken words if the bride and groom wanted it to be? Beast Boy doubted it, and little did he know how horribly right he was.

--

And there you have it. Everything is starting to heat up. I know _I'm_ excited.

If you enjoyed the chapter, please let me know in a review. I welcome any questions, comments, or criticism that you may have.

Thank you for reading, and have a terrific day.


	5. Wedding Rings

**A.N.** I'd like to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on the last chapter. I received over twenty terrific reviews, and I'm very appreciative of them all.

And regarding the story, from this point until the wedding, there will be a little countdown to let you all know how much time remains. The countdown begins on the same day Raven and Beast Boy informed their team that they have to marry, and will end on Saturday, May 26, the wedding day.

Chapter five of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Wedding Rings"

_Sunday, May 20; six days remaining_

The sun was setting over the bay, and still the Titans had not convened again since they left the meeting that radically shook up their world. The dinner hour had come and passed, but no one had suggested that they go out for supper or had offered to make something at the Tower. Because of this, each of the Titans had eaten by their lonesome, save Robin.

Robin had been moping about the Tower, thinking in excess about what had to be done and all the precautions that needed to be taken to ensure that this secret did not get out. Then there was the issue that he obviously had never officiated a wedding before, and would need to figure out what that entailed. It couldn't be a small feat to fulfill the legal requirements without anyone suspecting a marriage among the Titans. In fact, he worried that it was nearly impossible.

Robin was currently in the training room once again, finding that he had a lot of steam to burn off and couldn't stand just sitting around the Tower. Starfire had entered the room a while ago, and was currently sitting on a bench against the far wall, watching Robin continue to take out his frustration on a punching bag in grave silence. Normally he felt a little bit self-conscious about having an audience while he trained, but he was preoccupied and she didn't seem to be looking at him much anyway. Maybe she just wanted some company or someone to commiserate with.

"Please, Robin," she eventually spoke up, breaking the quiet, "You have been training for a very long time. Perhaps you should take a break."

The boy shook his head, but stopped running through his various kicks and punches, allowing the training device to slowly swing to a stop as he panted beside it. Robin wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, still breathing deeply.

"I can't, Star," he admitted. "This is so… bizarre. One minute everything was normal, and then Raven announced that she's getting married to Beast Boy, and suddenly everything's out of my control. Don't they know what could happen to the team because of this?"

"It is not their fault," Starfire replied, "And friends Beast Boy and Raven do not need our criticism, but our support during this challenging time."

"They're not ready," Robin said strongly. "We're all just kids."

"Perhaps so," Starfire agreed, "But who are we to question the culture of Azarath? Do not forget that if Raven does not marry friend Beast Boy, she will die from the curse placed upon her at birth."

"I know," Robin admitted with a reluctant sigh. "And that's why I agreed to help them at all." He paused for a second before continuing. "You know, I'm worried about Raven more than anyone else. She doesn't even like being around _us_ half the time. Imagine how much she'll hate being married."

"I understand your concern. And yet, friend Raven is very lucky," Starfire said carefully.

"How's that?"

"Arranged marriages seldom occur between friends," she explained. "Even though Beast Boy and Raven are not very close, they know each other well and that is most fortunate. Beast Boy is one of the better males to whom Raven could be betrothed. Also, unlike when I was to marry, Raven will remain here on Earth, with us."

Robin smiled thinly, remembering Starfire's brief engagement to that ooze monster Glrdsklechhh. True, Raven and Beast Boy's sudden marriage was not the first the Titans had faced, but he seriously doubted that this situation would work out as well as Starfire's near marriage had.

"Maybe there is a way out for them, like there was a way out for you," Robin began.

"Please, Robin," Starfire stopped him sadly, standing and moving to lay a hand on his shoulder. "Do not fight this, for it is not your battle. What the law of Azarath commands must be carried out, and all we are called to do is help friend Raven do what she must."

Robin exhaled slowly, looking down. "I know you're right," he admitted. He straightened again and managed a grim smile. "Thanks, Star."

"I am most delighted to help," she beamed.

The Boy Wonder nodded and changed the subject. "You're in charge of putting the wedding together, huh?" Robin asked.

"Oh yes, and there is much to be attended to! Would you like to help me?"

Robin quickly shook his head. "No thanks. I'm already the minister, and that's enough responsibility for me."

Starfire accepted this excuse with a nod. "Then I suppose I will need to fully rely on friend Raven's council. I am not certain of how a traditional Earth wedding differs from one on Tamaran, but I suppose that the variance is immense."

"I'm sure it is," Robin replied. He was pretty sure that Raven wouldn't be too stoked about helping Starfire, but maybe it would be good for the dark girl. He had a feeling that if someone didn't stop her, Raven would be spending the next six days in her bedroom. Besides, maybe she would find the preparations enjoyable. Girls liked throwing parties and stuff, right? Granted, Raven wasn't exactly a normal teenage girl, but it would be good for her to spend some extra time around Starfire's infectious excitement.

"Well, I won't keep you," Robin stated, grabbing up his nearby water bottle from the floor. He bid Starfire a goodnight as he left.

TT

Raven yawned. She hadn't felt this tired in a long time. Who knew proposing and informing your team of your sudden betrothal took so much out of a person?

She was quite relieved that everything was going well. The whole team had graciously accepted her dilemma and she could finally relax, knowing that her life was safe. Now if only she could regain her powers that would make her life so much easier, but really, she wasn't complaining. She could live without her telekinesis for six days. Besides, it would be much easier to survive this stressful time if she didn't have to worry about her powers acting up. Even so, Raven felt guilty about not being able to do her part as a member the team for almost a week.

It was late. The clock by her bedside read eleven P.M., and Raven felt like she could sleep for years. Taking off her cloak and tossing it on a chair beside her bed, she sank down into the softness of her warm mattress and burrowed under the covers. She sighed.

Even though everything was going according to plan, Raven couldn't shake the feeling that this marriage couldn't possibly be as painless and straightforward as she was hoping. After all, was anything in her life ever as simple as it appeared?

Raven closed her eyes. All she could do was pray that the team would be able to work past this sudden marriage quickly, so that a sense of normalcy could return to the life of the Titans once again. Even after she was married to Beast Boy, maybe they would all be able to live like nothing had changed. This seemed like a juvenile way to deal with their problems, but it would be best for everyone to acknowledge the marriage as little as possible.

Raven noted sadly how much she had taken for granted her good life as a Titan. She hadn't realized how much belonging to the team meant to her until this situation came up and threatened to end her contenting life as a hero. '_You never know what you had until it's taken away_,' she thought bitterly. While this thought still lingered in her mind, the exhausted girl soon fell into a light, troubled sleep.

Across the Tower, Beast Boy was still wide-awake, staring up at the ceiling of his room from his bed. He had a feeling that sleep would not come easily while his wedding loomed over his head, and beyond that, who knew? He had no idea what to expect after the wedding, and having his life so up in the air worried him profusely. Gosh, getting married was supposed to be one of the happiest times of his life, but all it had brought him so far was anxiousness and sadness at the fact that Raven was so incredibly opposed to entering a relationship with him. Beast Boy wasn't dumb, and he knew that Raven was a very reclusive person by nature, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dejection that filled him when he thought about how much she was fighting and would fight this marriage every step of the way, constantly downplaying its importance and trying to control the situation so that she didn't have to sacrifice a thing. He was ready to give the marriage an honest try (it seemed like the most logical thing to do), but unfortunately, Raven didn't share that willingness in the least.

But maybe the best thing to do right now would be to get his mind off of the whole situation. Even so, he just couldn't stop worrying that Raven saw him as the enemy now that he was part of her problem. True, their personalities clashed and they did not have much in common, but miracles happen, right? Maybe the marriage would grow on Raven. He could try being a little more supportive and a little less childish. It didn't take a genius to know that his jokes wouldn't help the situation, so maybe it was time to grow up and act a little more mature, if only to prove to Raven that he recognized that they were in this together. He could make her see that he was more than a shrimpy green boy. He was more than a prankster who couldn't stay serious for ten minutes. But still, he didn't want to change who he was just for Raven's benefit, and he refused to trick her into believing he was something he was not. God, why did this have to be so confusing? Beast Boy felt utterly alone. No one on his team would understand what he was dealing with.

Great, so much for getting his mind off his problems. All he wanted to do right now was get some much-needed rest. Beast Boy got up and turned off the lights, then sat back down on the bottom bunk of his bed. He pulled off his shoes and dropped them somewhere on the floor, flopping back on the bed with a yawn.

After not sleeping a wink the night before, he really, really needed to get some shut-eye. Unfortunately, his mind was working overtime and didn't seem to want to calm down anytime soon. Try as he might, he couldn't stop dreading the change that was coming his way, whether he liked it or not. He couldn't stop thinking about poor Raven, who still thought that she was alone because her fiancée was too immature to understand what she was dealing with. It really was a shame that they had to face this change while the Titans were so content and successful, and he hated being helpless to stop it. But he had to be brave for the others. Beast Boy couldn't let them see how worried and anxious he was, because if he couldn't be the one in good spirits, no one else would be. And yet, he had to learn to be there for Raven, to show her that she wasn't isolated in her problems. They had to tackle this marriage together.

TT

_Monday, May 21; five days remaining_

Raven awoke to the sound of someone loudly knocking at her bedroom door. She groaned, sleepily opening her eyes to peer at her clock. It was already ten A.M., and by her standards, she had overslept by quite a few hours.

She threw on her cape and brushed her hair quickly before walking across her room and manually opening the door. Yes, it would be annoying to go without her powers for the next five days, but she would just have to learn to cope with the temporary disability.

Upon opening the door, Raven found that Starfire was standing in the hall, a gigantic stack of magazines and brochures balancing precariously on one hand as she had used the other to knock.

Starfire's face lit up when the door opened. "Good morning, friend Raven," she greeted the sleepy girl. "I have brought the items I collected earlier while searching the city for information concerning a traditional Earth wedding, and I request your assistance as I look through them."

'_God, what did I do to deserve this_?' Raven thought to herself as she yawned. She didn't feel like being roped into helping Star with the planning, but she also didn't want this wedding to turn out looking like some sort of bizarre Tamaranean festival. Starfire probably did need at least a little bit of guidance.

"Alright," Raven agreed hesitantly. "Come in."

Starfire eagerly stepped inside, not phased by the dreariness of the dark room and the unwillingness of her tired friend. The happy alien sat down on the floor, setting down the huge pile of materials she had brought with her.

Raven regarded the intimidating number of catalogs and brochures warily. "How long did it take you to find all this?" she asked.

"Oh, not long. Robin accompanied me first to the mall of shopping, and then to a number of other delightful little stores in our city which sell the various things needed for a wedding celebration," Starfire replied. "Robin insisted upon wearing the most ridiculous disguises so that we would not be recognized by civilians during our excursion."

Raven smiled. '_Typical Robin_,' she thought knowingly, '_So hopelessly paranoid about secrecy_.' She glanced at the giant booklet on the very top of the intimidating pile. It was a very thick catalog with pictures of wedding dresses, all of which looked incredibly elegant and very expensive. Beneath it were several magazines from various jewelry stores, and under those was a brochure for a florist.

Raven moved to take the florist brochure from the pile, triggering a small avalanche of Starfire's papers. There was an incredible amount of different wedding essentials represented in this now jumbled heap of advertisements, and Raven couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. It suddenly hit her how difficult it would be to pull this all off in five days if Star was really set on making it elaborate. '_And this is why we shouldn't be having a celebration in the first place_,' she thought dismally.

She glanced at Starfire. "Maybe we should start by sorting this into groups."

Starfire agreed, and the two girls spent the next fifteen minutes working through the pile of material, dividing it all into different categories until they were left surrounded by many smaller stacks, each representing a detail that still needed to be attended to, from flowers to decorations to formal clothing.

"I don't know where to begin," Raven admitted.

"We will need to order food soon if we wish for it to arrive before Saturday," Starfire said, reaching for the stack of magazines that represented various catering companies and dining options.

Raven cocked an eyebrow. This was being catered?

"Look, Starfire," she said carefully, deciding to speak her mind before she got pulled in any deeper. "This wedding isn't worth going through so much trouble," she stated, motioning at all the advertisements and magazines lying about them. "Beast Boy and I don't want this to be a big celebration because our marriage is only temporary. It doesn't make sense to fuss over something we'd both rather forget."

Starfire's smile faded. "I am sorry," she apologized. "I simply wanted to make the day of your wedding wonderful."

Raven sighed. "I don't mind a little party or something, but--"

"You simply do not want to aid in the planning of the occasion," Starfire cut in.

"Well, no, I don't," Raven admitted at last.

"Very well," Starfire said, "I understand."

"Maybe Cyborg wants to help," Raven offered, feeling only a little bit bad about bailing on her friend. "He's the only one who isn't already involved."

Starfire's face brightened slightly. "Perhaps he would be glad to assist me," she agreed.

"He has probably been to more weddings than I have anyway," Raven said.

"Then he must share his experience and aid me with the preparations!" Starfire declared.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Raven offered half-heartedly.

"But I still must consult you for at least a few of the crucial matters of the wedding."

"Deal," Raven agreed.

"Perhaps you would like to pick out wedding bands with friend Beast Boy today?"

Raven groaned. "Not really."

"And we will have to go dress shopping very soon," Starfire added happily.

Raven couldn't help but smile despite herself. She could tell that Starfire was really enjoying her role as official wedding planner, even if no one else was nearly as enthusiastic about the occasion. '_At least she's trying to make the best of the situation_,' Raven thought.

"That can wait until later in the week, right?" she asked.

"I suppose we could delay the excursion by a few days, yes," Starfire replied.

Raven stood. "I guess I'll be going, then," she stated. Starfire took the hint and carefully gathered up everything she had brought, and the two girls left Raven's room.

TT

Beast Boy sat in the common room, a video game controller in his hands but a blank expression on his face. He had been playing Mega Monkeys 5 with Cyborg a little while ago, but hadn't been able to concentrate to save his life, allowing Cyborg to win with even more ease than usual. Even after Cyborg left, Beast Boy remained sitting on the couch, vacuously staring forward at nothing in particular.

"Gotta snap out of it, Beast Boy," he said tiredly to himself in a vain attempt to feel more awake. He yawned, tossing down the controller and closing his eyes. He leaned back against the couch.

The night before, he hadn't had much luck sleeping again. The last time he remembered glancing at his bedside clock it had been one-thirty A.M., and after that he had slept fitfully until he finally rolled out of bed around eight.

"I need caffeine," he grumbled, hauling himself up and shaking his head. He really wasn't in the mood for flat cherry cola, which was the only soda that had been in the Tower for the past few weeks. Then there was Robin's coffee, but similar to Raven's tea, everyone understood that it was off limits. Wait a minute, when Raven had first tried to tell him about the curse, she had offered him tea. Maybe she wouldn't mind sharing again. Well, at least he didn't have anything to lose by asking for some.

He hadn't seen Raven so far this morning, which probably meant that she hadn't left her room yet. Raven never slept in, so she was most likely just reading or meditating. Beast Boy stepped off in the direction of her bedroom.

As he walked, he passed Starfire in a hallway near the common room. She was carrying a huge stack of papers or something, but he didn't stop to find out what it was. Trying not to stumble as he shuffled tiredly took enough of his concentration.

He continued on and finally spotted Raven walking towards him in the hall by her room. She usually had her nose buried in a book, but today he noted that she was studying a magazine instead as she slowly strolled along. Her apathetic stare told him that she wasn't particularly enjoying her reading material.

"Whatcha got there, Rae?" he asked conversationally when they were a few feet apart.

Raven glanced up with a start when he spoke, stopping dead in her tracks. "Just some wedding prep nonsense," she replied, sounding slightly troubled.

"Is something wrong?" Beast Boy inquired.

Raven exhaled lightly. "It's just difficult getting used to not having my powers," she admitted. "I've apparently learned to rely on feeling people's approaching auras instead of watching where I'm going."

The changeling nodded his understanding. "Well, only five days longer, right?"

"I hope so."

Beast Boy blinked. "Wait, you hope so? I thought it was a definite thing that you'd get your powers back after we're married."

Raven shrugged. "I'm only assuming since I have nothing to go by."

"Oh," the boy replied, distressed at the prospect of Raven having to go even longer without the powers she relied on so much.

The two had stopped in the hall as they talked, but Raven resumed her walking in the direction of the common room when their conversation lulled. Beast Boy turned around and walked quickly to catch up.

"Was there something you wanted?" she asked, just slightly annoyed that Beast Boy had decided to tag along.

"Actually, I kinda wanted to ask if I could have some of your tea," he said. "I really need the caffeine."

Raven nodded slowly. "Haven't been sleeping well?" she asked, her tone betraying a hint of sympathy.

"Not really."

"You're not alone."

"Everything's just happening so fast, I can't stop thinking about it."

Raven was silent as they arrived in front of the elevator. When it came, the two Titans entered the machine and the door slid shut behind them. Raven carefully scanned the panel of buttons in front of her for a moment before tapping the button to take them to the floor on which the kitchen was located.

"I don't use this much," Raven mused.

"Well yeah, usually you just teleport into rooms."

Raven frowned. She would definitely miss doing that this week.

The elevator finally reached its destination and the doors opened. Raven and Beast Boy walked into the kitchen, and Raven went about preparing two cups of her strongest tea. Once the beverages were ready, she carried them carefully over to the kitchen table where Beast Boy sat. He was staring with glazed eyes out the windows, but his head turned back to the table as Raven set down his teacup in front of him.

"Thanks," he said, picking up the drink eagerly. Forgetting how hot tea straight from the kettle could be, he took a big sip, pleasantly surprised when it didn't scald his mouth.

"I know you don't like very hot beverages," Raven remarked absently.

Beast Boy cracked a smile, feeling a little bit touched that she cared to remember something like that.

The teens sat in comfortable silence as they drank their warm tea. Raven was in pretty good spirits. So far Beast Boy hadn't told a single joke that day. Either he was really, really tired or he was making a conscious effort not to.

"So," Beast Boy started, nodding at the cover of the magazine Raven had set down on the table. "Wedding dresses."

Raven grimaced. "I'm going dress shopping with Starfire later this week. She thinks I need to contemplate my options beforehand to make the best possible selection."

Beast Boy snickered, but tried to hide it when he received a glare from Raven. "Sorry," he offered, "I just can't picture you shopping for wedding dresses."

The girl continued to scowl. "Which reminds me," she said, "We're picking out our wedding rings today."

Beast Boy looked surprised. "Why so soon?"

"So soon?" Raven repeated him, raising an eyebrow. "Normal couples have details like that picked out months in advance."

"Months?" Beast Boy said in disbelief. "Now that's overkill."

Raven looked at him skeptically. "You don't know how hard it is to plan a wedding, do you?"

Beast Boy stared at her. "How hard can it be?" he wondered.

The empath looked at him darkly. "Trust me, it's difficult."

Beast Boy shrugged. It really wasn't worth arguing about, and he was happy as long as he wasn't expected to help much. "Fine, I believe you," he said.

"Good," Raven replied, and they finished their tea in silence.

Beast Boy could almost feel the energy from the tea coursing through his veins and he already felt a bit more alert.

Raven stood to leave, taking up both teacups and depositing them in the sink. "We can leave whenever you're ready," Raven stated.

"To go where?"

"Ring shopping," Raven reminded him, slightly piqued that he had already forgotten.

"Oh yeah," Beast Boy said sheepishly.

"Robin wants us to go incognito," Raven stated. "You'll need to ask Cyborg for that hologram ring if you don't want to be recognized in public."

"No problem," Beast Boy agreed.

"I'll go change and tell Robin we're leaving," Raven said. Beast Boy nodded and she left the room.

TT

A half hour later, Beast Boy was waiting for Raven to show up in the Tower foyer. He was no longer in uniform, but was dressed casually in jeans and a green jacket. Cyborg had given him hologram ring, which cloaked his green hair and skin as well as his fangs and pointed ears. He currently had blonde hair and blue eyes. In fact, he probably looked quite a bit like he would have if he hadn't been turned green in the first place.

The door to the foyer opened quietly and Beast Boy turned. Raven entered the room, stopping in her tracks upon seeing the changeling.

"You look quite different," she observed. In fact, he looked like a completely different person. If not for his height and posture remaining the same, she might have had trouble recognizing him at all.

"Yep," Beast Boy grinned, beckoning for her to follow him towards the door.

Raven had left her uniform in favor of wearing a pair of dark pants and a blue t-shirt. Robin had insisted that she wear colored contact lenses, so her eyes were currently a deep blue. She refused to wear a hat or wig to hide her hair, but there were plenty of teen girls in Jump City who had dyed their hair purple to look like her anyway. Raven reasoned that people would suspect she was just another fangirl.

"Ready to go?" Raven asked awkwardly, uncomfortable at having people (even her fiancée) look at her when she wasn't wearing her cloak and cowl.

Beast Boy nodded. "Cy'll kill me later, but let's take the T-Car."

The drive to the nearest jewelry store was uneventful. Beast Boy had insisted upon driving, and as he wasn't the most cautious driver in the world, Raven was pleasantly surprised that they arrived at their destination with the car still in one piece.

They parked the T-Car on a side street that was a few blocks away from the Timeless Jewelry Company. The couple walked the rest of the way to the store on foot.

After exchanging a nervous glance as they stood at the door of the store, Raven took a deep breath and bravely led the way in. She pushed the heavy glass door open and the two Titans were greeted with a wall of air conditioning as they stepped over the threshold and into the posh shop. There were several employees and a handful of rich looking patrons in the building, and elevator music played faintly from speakers in the ceiling. Raven and Beast Boy had only been in the store for a few seconds and were still taking in their surroundings when a sales woman pounced on them.

A short, middle-aged woman in very high stilettos quickly stepped up to the couple, a fake, toothy grin plastered on her heavily made up face. "Good afternoon," she said warmly. "I'm Judy. Can I help you find something?"

"We wanted to look at your wedding rings," Beast Boy replied, obviously uncomfortable about being there.

The woman's smile faltered almost imperceptibly. "Aren't you two a little young to be shopping for wedding rings?" she said with a slightly condescending tone, eying the teens in a none too friendly manner.

"Just show us the damn rings," Raven hissed in exasperation.

Both Judy and Beast Boy turned to look at her in shock, but Raven's expression remained impassive.

"Very well," Judy replied primly, "Right this way." She motioned for them to follow her over to a display case against the far wall.

"Um, Rae," Beast Boy whispered, "Would it kill you to look happy about getting married, just for a couple of minutes?"

Raven glanced at him in aggravation. "Let's get this over with," she sighed, fighting the urge to walk out of the store and go hide in her bedroom.

Beast Boy and Raven followed the sales woman until they were standing in front of a large display of ring sets. "Do you have an engagement ring to match?" Judy inquired, obviously still irked at Raven's less than ladylike behavior.

Raven shook her head.

"Is there anything you would like to see more closely?" Judy asked, resting her hands on top of the display case.

"No. Could you give us a minute?" Raven requested.

"Of course. Just call when you need me," Judy replied, looking all too happy to step away.

Beast Boy was staring with wide eyes at the shelves of rings that sat gleaming on silk cloth under the glass. More specifically, he was staring at the price tags that were placed near every piece of jewelry. "This stuff is insanely expensive," he said in shock.

"What were you expecting?" Raven deadpanned. "This is just one of the useless places where the rich and famous of Jump City go to blow their money."

"Who's paying for this?" Beast Boy asked, still amazed that two little scraps of metal could fetch such an exorbitant price.

"Don't worry about that," Raven said, "Just pick out ones you like so we can go."

Beast Boy looked at Raven oddly. "What's got you all mad?" he wondered.

Raven did not reply, even though she had a good idea of why she was feeling less than sociable. This was their first major step towards the wedding, and Raven was having a major 'there's no turning back now' moment.

"Nothing," she lied. "Can we please get back to the task at hand?" she inquired.

Beast Boy shrugged. "What kind did you want?" he asked, referring to the different materials that the rings were made of and all the different colors and styles

"I'm a little bit opposed to the traditional gold," Raven replied.

"Yeah, it would kinda clash with my skin tone," the changeling agreed. "Then what, silver? Platinum?"

"It doesn't matter," Raven said.

"Come on, you have to have an opinion," Beast Boy prodded.

"No, actually, I could care less," she bit back.

Beast Boy blinked, looking a bit stunned by the harshness in her voice.

Raven silently took a calming breath. "What about you?" she asked, trying to keep her tone a bit more civil.

"I dunno," Beast Boy admitted.

"Fantastic. Well, because neither of us have an opinion on the matter, why don't you just close your eyes and pick one?"

"Are you serious?"

"No, but you're supposed to be the decisive one in this relationship."

"That's news to me! You're the one who wants to take charge and make sure that this marriage is as unsuccessful as possible!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means."

"Well, humor me."

"Have you made a selection yet?" Judy asked in irritation as she quickly walked towards them to break up their squabble.

Beast Boy and Raven looked up, both blushing slightly as they realized that they had drawn the attention of the entire store during their disagreement.

"Uh, yeah," Beast Boy replied, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. He turned back to the display case, eyes quickly scanning over the various pieces. "We wanted to see… those," he said, waving his finger about before pointing to a pair of simple silver bands.

Judy fished a keyring out of her pocket and unlocked the case, carefully extracting the requested jewelry and placing the rings on a white cloth in front of them.

Raven tentatively reached out and took the smaller ring, turning it gently in her hand and watching it gleam under the bright lights in the shop.

"What do you think?" Beast Boy asked softly.

Raven did not respond. She was struggling to wrap her mind around the fact that she was actually holding her wedding ring. She had never even dreamed a day would come that she would marry, and yet here she was, with Beast Boy no less. She suddenly felt overcome by a strange emotion, and she fought to keep her face neutral. "It's fine," she finally whispered.

"A lovely selection," Judy commented, carefully plucking the ring from Raven's fingers. As soon as the ring was taken from her hand, Raven snapped back into reality, immediately feeling foolish for letting herself drift off. "Would you like to have anything inscribed on these?"

Raven glanced at Beast Boy, who shrugged. "No thank you," Raven replied. She couldn't think of anything she wanted to have written on the rings, but decided that if they changed their minds, Cyborg would probably be able to do the inscriptions anyway.

Judy quickly took down their ring sizes and selected the proper sized rings from a storage case.

Beast Boy grinned at Raven when Judy was turned away. "See? That wasn't too painful," he said.

Raven looked at him expressionlessly. "Whatever," she replied in monotone.

"You really like them?" Beast Boy asked, motioning to the rings, which Judy was carefully cleaning on top of the display case.

Raven shrugged. "I'm not a jewelry person," she offered. "But I suppose you made a decent choice, albeit a boring one."

Beast Boy scowled. "Hey, would you rather have some chunky, diamondy thing or the one I picked?"

"Relax, Beast Boy. I was kidding."

"Sure you were."

Raven rolled her eyes and said nothing. They waited while Judy finished polishing their rings then proceeded to pack them in cloth and placed them in an elegant, little while box. The box disappeared into a small bag, and Judy set it on the cashier counter as she furiously typed numbers into the register.

"Your total," Judy said with a nonchalant motion towards a figure on a paper in her hand.

Raven pulled out a wallet that contained the money Robin had given to her, and careful removed a number of large bills.

Beast Boy continued to stare in awestruck silence at the ridiculous amount of cash, which Raven found to be slightly humorous.

She handed the money over to Judy, who meticulously recounted the bills.

Beast Boy started to say something, but was cut off by the sound of a muffled female scream coming from somewhere outside the store. The scream was followed by the distinct sound of shattering glass. The two Titans looked at each other then to the counter, where Judy was taking her sweet time to process the transaction.

Beast Boy began to fidget. "How much longer is this going to take?" he whined.

Judy raised an eyebrow. "Not very patient, are we?" she chided, not looking up.

Beast Boy looked towards the door again, obviously dying to check out the situation. He glanced at Raven, who was just as curious.

"We don't really need the receipt," Raven said, reaching for the bag that contained the wedding rings.

"Then no refunds or exchanges will be permitted," Judy warned.

"Fine, thanks for your help," Beast Boy said hurriedly, taking Raven by the hand and no less than pulling her from the store.

Their sales lady shook her head but didn't say a word as the Titans left the building.

Once outside, it was immediately apparent what the cause of the commotion was. Four disheveled young men were crowding about a parked car not seventy feet away from Raven and Beast Boy, brandishing guns and hurling insults at whoever was occupying the vehicle. The windshield of the car and at least one other window had been smashed in, and broken glass littered the area around the battered car.

"Petty criminals," Beast Boy muttered, twitching in anticipation of a quick fight.

Raven huffed. "Of all the places to attack a car, it had to be right here," she said under her breath, cursing her luck. If she had her powers, she would have been putting a stop to the crime already, but she stood and stared on, feeling as helpless as a normal civilian and wondering how civilians could stand being so powerless all the time.

"Raven, go to the car," Beast Boy said seriously.

Raven hesitated, uneasy at sending off a teammate alone towards armed criminals.

"Go to the car," he repeated more strongly, tearing his eyes from the crooks for an instant to look at Raven. He pulled off his hologram ring and immediately he became the green superhero again. More glass could be heard shattering in the direction of the assaulted vehicle. Beast Boy handed Raven his rings and motioned in the direction of the T-Car. "I'll meet you there in a minute," he assured her, and even as the words were leaving his mouth he was running to take down the criminals.

She watched Beast Boy near the four armed men. As soon as they saw one of the Teen Titans coming at them, the crooks scattered, fleeing down the street towards a nearby alleyway, hurling obscenities all the while. Raven stared after Beast Boy a moment longer before angrily turning the other way and walking quickly towards the T-Car, despising the curse for making her so damn incapable.

The empath sat on the driver's side of the T-Car, drumming her fingers nervously against the steering wheel. It had been ten long minutes since Beast Boy had sent her to wait here, and Raven had just about had enough of this torture. A few minutes after she got to the car, Raven could have sworn that she heard gunshots sound from somewhere in the distance. She heard wailing police sirens moments later, and was just about positive that something horrible had happened to Beast Boy. She briefly let her mind wander to just what would happen to herself if Beast Boy was killed before they could be married, but Raven mentally slapped herself out of the pointlessly morbid train of thought when it only served to intensify her anxiety tenfold.

At long last, Beast Boy appeared at the passenger side door, startling Raven when he tapped on the window for Raven to let him in. Greatly relieved to see him, Raven unlocked the car and Beast Boy quickly slid into the seat to her right.

After glancing at the changeling and doing a double take to make sure her eyes weren't playing a trick on her, Raven's face colored red as her gaze snapped back to the steering wheel in front of her. "Beast Boy, where are your clothes?" she asked, trying hard to keep her voice level.

Sure enough, Beast Boy was sitting next to her in nothing more than a pair of Batman boxers, and he was blushing far more fiercely than Raven. "Civvies can't shift with me like my uniform can," he explained awkwardly. "I completely forgot I was wearing them until I shifted back into a human and one of those thugs just about died laughing."

Raven bit back a grin. "You apprehended all of the criminals?" she inquired, finding it a bit difficult to be all business.

"Yeah, those elusive little bastards put up a big fight, but I took 'em all down."

Raven finally had worked up the courage to glance at her teammate again. She was about to reply when her gaze focused on Beast Boy's arm and her eyes widened. An inch or so under his shoulder blade, Beast Boy's upper left arm sported a painful looking gash, which was still trickling blood. "Beast Boy, you're bleeding," she said, instinctively reaching out before remembering that her healing powers were out of commission.

He winced as her fingers brushed against the wound. Raven squinted at it carefully, attempting to assess the severity of the cut through the blood.

"Oh yeah," Beast Boy said lamely, apparently just remembering that he was wounded. "I kind of got shot at."

Raven looked at him in alarm, immediately angry with herself for letting him fight alone, even though there was nothing else she could have done.

"It barely nicked my arm," he said bravely, shrugging his shoulders then drawing in a deep breath between clenched teeth when the action agitated the open wound.

Raven raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Nick or not, that looks like a pretty deep laceration. You probably need stitches."

Beast Boy shook his head in frustration. "Are you sure you can't heal it?" he asked hopefully.

"You know that my powers aren't working," she reminded him. "Unless…" she trailed off. It was a long shot, but she knew that the curse was immobilizing her powers because she hadn't complied to marry early enough. But Knowledge had said that other Azarathians had been able to escape physical punishment by submitting, and this was the person she was supposed to marry, so perhaps healing him could be seen as an act of obedience. Sure, she had ulterior motives, but healing Beast Boy would be complying with the law by helping her fiancée, right?

Raven gingerly took Beast Boy's hand, lifting his arm slightly so she could lay her other hand on the wound. She closed her eyes and concentrated on healing, chanting her mantra under her breath. She could hardly suppress her elation when a familiar sensation shot through her arm, and her hand glowed black. The cut on Beast Boy's arm slowly shrank as the skin stitched itself back together, until only a trickle of drying blood was left from the gunshot wound.

Beast Boy grinned broadly. "I thought your powers weren't working."

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Raven assured him.

"Thanks," the changeling said quietly.

"No problem," she replied.

Raven glanced down. She was still holding Beast Boy's hand, and she froze. Raven's eyes locked with Beast Boy's for a moment, but she recovered quickly and let his hand drop. "We should get back to the Tower," she said, blushing again.

"Yeah. You have the wedding rings?"

"They're in the back seat," Raven replied. "And do you have extra clothes somewhere?" She could only imagine the reactions he would get coming home all but naked. "You look ridiculous."

Beast Boy smiled. "You know you like it, Rae," he taunted her.

Raven just rolled her eyes as she started the car.

--

This chapter was a little bit longer than usual, but I'm happy with how it turned out. As always, I would be most appreciative of any feedback. Reviews make me feel all fuzzy inside, so if you've got a minute, why not send me a quick note?

To all of my American readers, have a great Independence Day. To everyone else, eh, happy Wednesday.

Thank you for reading.


	6. Mayhem Tuesday

**A.N.** This chapter took far longer to turn out than I expected. School is an absolute nightmare. The only reason I found time to post this is that I'm off on Thanksgiving holiday this week. (Happy Turkey Day, everyone!) Sorry for the delay, and please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter six of Like It Or Not, entitled "Mayhem Tuesday"

_Tuesday, May 22; four days remaining_

Raven was feeling rather irritable from the moment she awoke. It was a few minutes before four-thirty when she groggily opened her eyes and knew for certain that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again now that she was up. For yet another night she had slept restlessly, spending most of the time teetering on that horrid line between sleep and alertness, which subjected her to a cloudy, dreamless sort of rather un-rejuvenating rest.

Weak with drowsiness Raven struggled to sit in her bed, blinking against the faintly moonlit darkness that would still be covering the room for at least another hour. She had the urge to simply lie in her warm, cozy bed for a while longer, but she couldn't shake off a feeling of trepidation stemming from God knows what. She had been brooding about the curse for enough time now that even when she wasn't actually thinking about it, apprehension hung about her subconscious like a thick, persistent fog.

But there was no sense in just lying there fretting when there were better things to be done.

After reluctantly leaving the solace of her comfortable bed, dressing, and stopping by the bathroom to brush her teeth, Raven silently made her way down to the common room, looking forward to a bit of meditation in front of its expansive window before everyone else woke up. Perhaps some of her tension would be released by a good bit of peace and quiet. Watching the sunrise over Jump City was one of her favorite ways to start the day, the silence of the Tower at the crack of dawn adding to the naturally calming feeling of watching a new day being ushered in.

But much to her severe dismay, as she opened the mechanical doors and stepped into the common room, Raven was greeted by a whoosh of obnoxiously loud, electronic music. Raven frowned murderously, her hopes for a quiet morning immediately being shot dead. And who else would be the one to ruin her morning plans but the one she was betrothed to?

Completely unaware that he was in the wrong place at a terribly wrong time, Beast Boy continued to sit on the couch, completely engrossed in a racing car video game.

At freaking four-thirty in the morning.

Oblivious to the fact that a very upset Raven had just stepped into the room, Beast Boy continued to furiously manipulate buttons on his controller, physically leaning and jumping as his car sped through a simulated highway that looked more like a bizarre obstacle course than a proper road.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Beast Boy muttered to himself under his breath, leaning severely to the left to dodge what appeared to be a mutated monkey as it jumped screeching in front of his vehicle. He jammed a button, which honked the car horn, and a red plasma ray shot from the bumper. It melted several nearby lava lamps into shiny, techni-colored puddles that sizzled and dissolved through the road.

Feeling immensely irritated that she apparently wouldn't be getting her much needed quiet time here, Raven half-watched as Beast Boy drove through several silver coins, which caused pixilated sparks to fly across the screen and cued some very annoying victory music.

Tired of watching on, Raven cleared her throat loudly. Beast Boy jumped at the sudden noise behind him and his head whirled around. Raven glanced at the screen with disinterest as his car skidded loudly off the road, collided with a broken hotdog stand, and unceremoniously burst into flames. Deep, maniacal laughter sounded as "GAME OVER" flashed across the screen and Beast Boy cried out in distress. A dancey, Mission: Impossible-esque theme tune began to play as he was brought back to the main menu screen.

"Aw, I was _this_ close to beating Cy's all time high score!" Raven's groom-to-be whined loudly, tossing the controller onto the coffee table with a clatter.

Raven stared dispassionately at Beast Boy as he pouted.

"Is there any reason you're up so early?" she asked, mind already formulating dozens of plans to get him out of the room.

Beast Boy grinned sheepishly. "Actually, I'm just up late."

Raven raised an eyebrow dubiously. "You haven't slept at all?" she inquired. Beast Boy did love to stay up late watching television, reading comics, eating ice cream, and doing other things of that frivolous nature, but four-thirty was pushing it, even for him.

"Yeah, I kinda gave up trying to fall asleep 'round two and I wanted to try out Road Map Extreme 3. There's nothing like driving through a dangerous alternate universe to get your mind off things." The changeling shrugged and Raven noticed that his eyes looked a bit darker than usual. She eyed him skeptically.

"Seriously, don't worry 'bout it," Beast Boy replied, waving her off. He rose and switched off the game, which mercifully stopped that God-awful theme music and plunged the room into silence. Raven continued to stare furtively at Beast Boy with her arms crossed, obviously waiting for more of an explanation.

For a minute he seemed unwilling to say anything more, but then he sighed in defeat and flopped back on the couch, patting the cushion beside him. Raven considered him briefly then slowly moved to take a seat on the couch a good distance away from him. For a moment neither of them spoke.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Raven asked at last.

"You know what's wrong," Beast Boy replied automatically. "Well, nothing's _wrong_ wrong, ya know, just… I have too much to think about."

"So you're still too worried about our wedding to sleep?" Raven guessed gently.

Beast Boy hesitated "Yeah," he admitted. "Don't tell me you're not. Not even you get up _this_ early."

"Guilty as charged," she said quietly.

Beast Boy frowned tiredly. "Well, you know I'm here if you ever wanna talk," he reminded her, his last few words slurred together by a tremendous yawn.

"Right," Raven said noncommittally, chalking up his strange offer for anything that resembled a heart-to-heart to the fact that he was more than a bit sleepy. But Beast Boy was apparently waiting for a better response, because he cracked one slightly bloodshot eye open mid-yawn and looked expectantly at her. No doubt Beast Boy was waiting for her to reciprocate his offer to gladly listen if he felt like pouring out his thoughts and feelings. Raven smirked to herself. No amount of sleep deprivation would make her do that, and that much was certain.

"Well, you look tired to me," Raven said at last, breaking away from what was becoming a rather uncomfortable discussion. She had a hunch that Beast Boy was extremely close to nodding off. "Why don't you go off to bed again and see if you can sleep?"

Beast Boy slowly shook his head. "Nah, I won't be able to."

Raven shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm going to meditate. Don't you dare turn on your video game again," she warned him, standing up.

"Yeah, whatever," he shrugged, lying down on the couch on his side and resting his head in the crook of his arm.

Raven grinned a bit to herself, feeling better now that she would be getting her quiet meditation time. Sharing a room with a snoozing Beast Boy wasn't too far from being alone, even though he did have a tendency to snore.

Before five minutes had gone by, Beast Boy had ceased moving and was apparently slumbering. Raven walked to the window and assumed the lotus position on the floor. She gazed out the window at the sky, where the faintest hues of purple and pink were just skimming the horizon. Raven comfortably sunk into meditation, chanting her mantra slowly under her breath and enjoying the pacifying feeling of blissful disconnection that came streaming in.

Unfortunately, the tranquility didn't last more than five minutes.

"Rae?"

Raven's concentration broke and her eyes opened. She frowned.

"What?" Raven replied shortly. She could feel his sheepish smile without turning around.

"I was thinking about what you said, ya know, about how nothing has to change," Beast Boy said from behind her back. "When we're married."

Raven's expression of perturbation faltered.

"Were you?" she responded, staring pointedly out the window at a building far away.

"Yep."

Raven waited for him to continue.

"Well…" Beast Boy trailed off uncertainly. "I just think that…" He breathed out lightly. "Maybe everything doesn't _have_ to stay exactly the same, 'cause maybe this is all happening for a reason," he said all at once and very quickly. So quickly, in fact, that Raven almost couldn't understand him.

Raven cautiously turned her head towards the changeling. "Why do you say that?" she inquired evenly.

Beast Boy wouldn't meet her gaze but instead stared out the window to her right. He took a full minute to decide how he would respond.

"Maybe it's dumb," he said slowly, "But I've never thought that stuff like this - big stuff, I guess - happens for no reason at all. Out of everything that could have happened you're stuck with me, but that can't just be random. Like, there's got to be a purpose to why we're getting married other than to just satisfy this curse thing. Maybe it's supposed to be more than just saying 'I do' then going off and trying to forget we're even married, and I know that's exactly what you planned to do, so don't try to argue."

"Beast Boy," Raven cut him off with a sigh, "You're just rambling. Seriously, go to bed."

"Rae," Beast Boy said, his voice almost pleading. His eyes locked with hers. "Please don't give up before this thing even starts, ok?"

Raven stared back at him for a moment then shook her head slowly.

"I can't promise you anything," she replied quietly. "The team is our life and our biggest commitment right now. Nothing can disrupt that."

Beast Boy nodded sadly. "I knew you were gunna say something like that," he admitted. "Well don't forget that I'm not giving up, even if you have." He grinned, genuinely but sedately.

Feeling puzzled, Raven turned her head back to the window as she felt her cheek grow warm from the early morning rays of sun that had all of a sudden sprung up, illuminating the city in a soft, hazy light blue.

"I won't forget," she said carefully. Raven cleared her throat, trying to dispel the awkward feelings that Beast Boy seemed bound and determined to ensnare her with.

"That's all I ask," he replied with a tone of finality, hopping up from the couch. "Maybe I'll go give sleeping another shot. I guess I'm feeling a little tired. 'Night, Raven."

Raven didn't reply, and she didn't even turn around as he left. She just scowled internally, miffed that Beast Boy had to go and think and complicate everything even further.

TT

The early morning hours passed by too quickly in Raven's opinion, and before she knew it, it was nine o'clock and Cyborg had come in to invite her for breakfast. He informed her that Starfire and Beast Boy were already in the kitchen but Robin had either already eaten or was skipping breakfast in favor of working.

Although not particularly hungry, she acquiesced and joined three of her teammates in the kitchen. Someone had left a few pieces of burnt toast on a plate in front of the seat where she usually sat, and she opted to forgo her usual cup of tea for a glass of orange juice. She then sat down to eat between Beast Boy and Cyborg, across from Starfire, who had placed Silkie in a highchair beside her.

"I trust that you are having a most pleasant morning, friend Raven?" Starfire chirped, spooning hot pink muck into Silkie's gaping mouth.

"Sure," Raven replied dully, eying a particularly charred corner of a piece of toast.

"Splendid," Starfire exclaimed, "Although I fear that Beast Boy is not feeling well," she said, a frown clouding over her face.

"For the millionth time, Star," Beast Boy said indignantly, mouth full and waving a fork laden with tofu egg, "I am _not_ sick. I just didn't sleep that much, that's all."

"And why did you choose not to partake in rest last night?" Starfire asked patiently.

Beast Boy shrugged. "I kinda couldn't stay asleep." He shot a furtive glance at Raven. "I did try, though."

Starfire's frown grew. "On my planet, the inability to achieve slumber over a long period of time may signify the presence of evil spirits in the body of the afflicted, either that or giant Korzag worms. Friend Beast Boy, are you suffering from evil spirits or Korzag worms?"

"What? No!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "I just…" He scowled. "Forget it, it's nothing important."

Cyborg eyed his friend wisely but did not comment. His knowing look made Beast Boy feel strangely uncomfortable.

"Anyone know where Rob is?" Beast Boy asked, trying to change their topic of discussion.

"Robin is working on very pressing matters in the operations room," Starfire replied. "He declined to dine with us this morning as he has much to accomplish today."

"Typical Robin," Cyborg sighed, prodding his heap of bacon with his fork.

"Well let him work," Beast Boy declared. "If he wants to hole up in the Tower all day by himself that's his own fault."

"Hey, don't forget whose wedding he's got to sort out so much stuff for now," Cyborg reminded his friend.

Beast Boy looked slightly contrite. "Of course I'm not forgetting. But how much stuff does he have to do?"

"Could you be any more guileless?" Raven replied caustically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Beast Boy shot back.

"So," Cyborg spoke up, sensing that a classic clash of Raven's corrosive witticism and Beast Boy's often aggravating ignorance was about to ensue. "Anyone else watch the news this morning?"

Raven lost interest in Beast Boy for the time being in favor of answering Cyborg.

"No, why? Was the wedding leaked?" she immediately responded.

"Chill Rae!" Cyborg said defensively. "No. At least not really. Some guy got a picture of you and BB downtown yesterday. Nothing big."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "When exactly was the picture taken?" she inquired, almost afraid to ask.

"In front of the jewelry store," Cyborg admitted, "But I can guarantee that Rob's working on it." He could tell that Raven was ready to vociferate her worries on the matter so he kept talking. "But what's done is done. Don't worry 'bout it, really. You got the rings, that's all that matters, right?"

"Right!" Beast Boy agreed. "In fact, I think I've got 'em here," he said as he rummaged through his pockets. "Aha!" he exclaimed in triumph as he pulled the two silver rings from his left pocket.

"And why are you keeping those in your pocket?" Raven asked in slight disgust.

"For safe keeping," Beast Boy replied with a shrug.

Silkie, who had finished its meal and hopped up onto the table to stare longingly at the breakfast plates, blinked at the rings as Beast Boy set them down on the table. Before Starfire could react, the silkworm had skittered forward, upsetting Cyborg's glass of orange juice as it dived for the rings.

"Silkie, no!" Starfire cried, but it was too late. Silkie had descended upon and swallowed the rings with a single squelchy gulp, clucking happily and utterly unaware of what precisely it had done.

Beast Boy yelped, immediately grabbing Starfire's pet and trying to pry open it's mouth. The startled worm let out a petrified squeal of fright and began wriggling madly, trying to break free of the changeling's grasp.

Raven just sighed in exasperation and put her head in her hands.

Cyborg was fighting back a laugh, but knew that he should at least offer to help his struggling friend. He compromised with himself by removing Beast Boy's glass of orange juice from where it was dangerously close to being elbowed off the table. Shrugging, he emptied the glass with one swallow, only to choke on it a moment later when he almost burst out laughing as Silkie's teeth clamped down on several of Beast Boy's fingers.

Starfire was all the while standing close by Beast Boy, wringing her hands and asking Silkie to return to friend Beast Boy what it had eaten.

"Hello? Little help here?" Beast Boy called, glancing in frustration around the table at Raven and Cyborg who were watching him, Cyborg still coughing.

"You should not have placed such shiny objects within close proximity of Silkie," Starfire admonished him.

"Me?" Beast Boy cried in disbelief, "He's the one who jumped across the table and ate my rings!"

After several more minutes of Beast Boy wrestling the now severely traumatized worm, he was able to triumphantly squeeze the rings (along with the entirety of its hot pink breakfast) onto the kitchen table, using a move akin to the Heimlich maneuver.

While shaking her head and telling Beast Boy that he would have to boil her ring in bleach before she would even consider wearing it now, Raven deliberately moved her juice and plate of toast to the far corner of the table, away from the mess near Beast Boy.

Starfire was crooning at and cuddling a severely shell-shocked Silkie, who was shaking intensely and staring wide-eyed in Beast Boy's direction.

Deliberately pocketing the dirty rings again, Beast Boy scowled severely at Silkie. It jumped a good half-foot in the air when Beast Boy rose to get paper towels, making the changeling grin evilly.

"I insist that you do not further emotionally harm my innocent bumgorf," Starfire demanded loudly.

"What! Did you not _see_ that evil little monster swallow _my_ rings?" Beast Boy shot back.

"Star, he doesn't know what he's saying!" Cyborg replied quickly, seeing that Starfire was prepared to duke it out with (and probably severely harm) Beast Boy for insulting her pet. "He's just sleep deprived, remember?"

Starfire, whose eyes had begun to glow green, suddenly returned to normal and filled with compassion for her friend.

"Oh Beast Boy, I implore for your forgiveness! I had forgotten that a Korzag worm infestation also causes one to lose control of their reasoning."

"For the last time, I don't have Zorkag worms!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Of course you don't," Starfire replied kindly in her best nurse-at-a-happy-house voice.

Cyborg sighed to himself and closed his eyes. Sometimes he wondered why he ever tried.

TT

Robin groaned, closing his eyes and massaging his temples while he laid his head against the high back of the chair he occupied. He had been on the phone for most of the morning, answering questions from newspapers and television stations regarding a single photo taken of two undercover Titans spotted shopping downtown the day before. It was a dumb thing to spark so much talk, but he supposed that it was a slow news week and the media was desperate for something to turn into an unnecessarily big deal.

Aside from handling that madness, he had reluctantly placed a call to his mentor, the notorious Bruce Wayne. Now Robin was certainly not one who enjoyed asking for help, but he was smart enough to know when help was needed. Bruce was far better than he at pulling off all sorts of undertakings without tipping off the wrong people, and while Robin hated to trouble the Batman over his own team's problems, he had done so anyway. As Robin expected, his unflappable mentor had hardly sounded surprised when he was informed that Raven and Beast Boy were to be married. Calm as ever, Bruce had graciously agreed to aid his protégé, and proper arrangements had been set.

Between all of this, Robin was spending some much needed time just thinking about the wedding. Now that a bit of time had passed since he learned of it and the initial shock had worn off, he came to the ego-bruising conclusion that he may have been a _bit_ wrong to be so opposed to the marriage. After all, Raven marrying Beast Boy wasn't nearly as bad as her dying. Alright, so Robin had been selfish, and it had been wrong to refuse to help simply because the marriage could potentially weaken the team. The reality had struck him a little while ago that if she did not go through with the wedding, Raven would actually _die_. It was difficult for him to fathom a life without the dark sorceress on his team, so much so that he had pretty much blocked out that possibility long ago. He truly wanted to believe that the Titans would all be together and happy forever, so when something came up that threatened to break them apart, his initial reaction was to do whatever he could to prevent the change. He had all but refused to accept the prospect of disruption to his satisfyingly ordered world, a mistake he would hate to confess to anyone. Still, admitting his mistake introspectively certainly counted for something, didn't it?

Robin lazily opened an eye when he heard the doors to the operations room whoosh open. He nonchalantly waved his greeting as Cyborg and Starfire entered. Cyborg went over to one of the research consoles while Starfire sat down in a chair and scooted it close to Robin's.

"You look quite tired, Robin," she remarked while carefully eying her weary leader, whose head was still propped on his chair back. "Are you feeling healthy? I do hope that you are not also suffering from a Korzag worm infestation."

"What? I'm fine," Robin assured her, slightly puzzled, "I was just dealing with some wedding business and fending off the media."

Starfire nodded grimly. "Cyborg has informed us that the media is aware of the situation."

"They think that something's up," Robin replied, "But then again, they always do. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Their only source of information here is a picture from a camera phone taken of BB and someone assumed to be Raven in front of a jewelry store. It's no big deal," Cyborg added, not glancing away from the monitor he was half-heartedly studying.

"I contacted the jewelry store where Raven and Beast Boy bought their rings. Luckily they have a policy against divulging customer sales records," Robin said. "I personally paid the shop a visit this morning to make sure that the record would remain confidential."

"Death threats?" Cyborg joked.

Robin grinned. "Nope, but we're all wearing Timeless jewelry to the Jump City Summer Gala."

Starfire clasped her hands together. "Glorious!" she exclaimed. "Your Earth jewelry made of precious metals and tiny stones is most enchanting."

Cyborg wasn't nearly as impressed, but he grunted and went back to eying the screen in front of him.

"My friends," Starfire began after a comfortable silence, "I have researched the matter and have found that it is traditional for the acquaintances of the bride and groom to offer gifts on the wedding day. What will we give to our friends on their day of celebration?"

Robin's brow furrowed. "You know, I haven't given that much thought, but I don't think that Raven particularly wants any presents, and Beast Boy would be happy getting… pretty much anything."

"You can't go wrong with videogames," Cyborg offered.

"But we always get Beast Boy videogames. In fact, I can't think of a single birthday or Christmas that he _hasn't_ gotten videogames," Robin reminded his friend.

Cyborg grinned. "But what else can we get him that won't end up lost and forgotten somewhere in that pigsty he calls a bedroom?"

"I have learned that it is customary for the newlywed couple to travel to a moon of honey following the conclusion of their wedding," Starfire declared. "Perhaps we could purchase this trip to the moon of honey for our friends as a gift."

Cyborg couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think they'll be going on a honeymoon, Starfire."

"But why not?" Starfire asked. "I think it is a wonderful idea for the recently married couple to have a vacation during which to celebrate their recent union."

"Honeymoons aren't ordinary vacations," Robin replied carefully. "They're usually a lot more… you know, intimate."

Starfire blinked. "Intimate?" she repeated.

He tried not to blush. "Yeah. They're supposed to be all romantic and about the couple connecting with each other."

"And our friends do not wish to connect with each other on a moon of honey?" Starfire said, attempting to understand.

Robin was about to stammer a reply when Cyborg spoke.

"What Robin's attempting to sugarcoat," Cyborg replied with a longsuffering sigh, "Is that honeymoons are all about being in love, having sex, and getting to know your partner better."

"Oh," Starfire replied while nodding slowly, realization finally dawning, "Then I see why our friends would not wish to take such a trip."

"Exactly," Robin agreed quickly. "So, Cyborg," he said, switching subjects, "What're you working on?"

"Right now not much, but real early this morning while you were already busy P.R.-ing, we got a fax from the JCPD. Two warehouses on opposite sides of Jump City's factory district were broken into last night and a total of three hundred pounds of steel was reported stolen this morning."

"Must be Rancid," Robin grumbled, mask narrowed.

"That was my first thought too, but after pokin' around a little bit, I'm pretty sure it wasn't him. For one thing, all surveillance cameras in and around the first warehouse were deactivated simultaneously and no alarms were tripped. There were no witnesses and only some broken glass lying around afterwards as evidence. The thief, assuming that it was the same guy who pulled both heists, repeated the same method in the second warehouse later the same hour. It was a real clean job, and Rancid wouldn't be able to pull off something like that. I meant to tell Rae and BB all that at breakfast but I never got the chance," Cyborg finished, giving Starfire a look.

Robin shook his head in aggravation. "Why wasn't I informed about all this earlier?"

"Hey, you were busy. Besides, the rest of us are perfectly capable of doing a little research," Cyborg pointed out. "And it's not like there's anything we can do about it now but be ready for this thief to strike again."

"We'll have to double up on patrol duty for a while," Robin stated. "One of us will go about the normal night rounds and one of us will be assigned to patrol only the factory district."

"Sounds like a plan," Cyborg agreed.

"This will indeed be quite taxing to our team," Starfire remarked. "With Raven temporarily unable to perform the patrol, that leaves only four of us."

"With two four hour shifts per night, we'll be fine without her for a few days," Robin assured her. "Where's Beast Boy? He needs to be informed of the patrol schedule change."

"No clue," Cyborg answered. "The happy couple has been MIA since breakfast."

"Well I'm done 'P.R.-ing' for now," Robin announced, standing up. His joints cracked audibly, protesting the abrupt movement after hours of sitting. He stretched his sore arms over his head. "If any more nosy news companies call the Tower, I've got our statements written down by the phone in here."

"Robin, if you do not have any more pressing matters to attend to, would you like to accompany me to the shop of wedding cakes?" Starfire inquired. "I wish to attend to that matter today. You can aid me in the exciting task of picking out the best tiered pastry confection for our dear friends!"

"Sure. Just let me run some things by Raven and Beast Boy first, then we can go," Robin replied.

"Wonderful! I will be eagerly awaiting your arrival in the foyer of our home," Starfire informed him. "I assume that you wish to again travel in the cognito?"

"It's _incognito_, Star," Robin corrected her. "And yes. I'll meet you on the first floor in a minute."

"Enjoy your little date," Cyborg called over his shoulder as his friends left the room together, the doors closing behind them before they could reply.

TT

After checking the kitchen, the training room and Raven's bedroom, Robin finally found the sorceress staring at a book in the common room, not even pretending to listen while Beast Boy jumped about expressively, prattling on about some horror movie he had seen recently. When Robin entered the room, Beast Boy was in the middle of single-handedly enacting a scene in which zombies tore apart a wooly mammoth. Grateful for another excuse to ignore the boy, Raven turned her head to watch Robin as he stepped into the room.

"Hey," Robin greeted his friends. "I'm heading out with Star to pick out your wedding cake, so if either of you want to come, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Raven scoffed and Beast Boy snorted.

"I'll take that as an 'I could care less' from both of you," Robin said amusedly.

"You know us well," Raven replied, absently tracing a finger over the spine of her book.

"Well," Robin began, suddenly falling into his all-business leader mode. "Neither of you have been briefed on last night's steel heists. You'll have to ask Cyborg to fill you in. I would, but Star's waiting for me. Anyway, I've decided that we're going to double up on our nighttime patrolling force for the time being. There will be two shifts per night, two of us on each shift. One of us will go about the normal patrol rounds while the other focuses only on the factory district." Robin noted that Raven's face grew a little bit darker while he was speaking. She was already anticipating his next words. "Raven, you won't be assigned to patrol duty until you regain your powers."

Raven nodded curtly, subconsciously gripping the binding of her book a little bit more tightly.

"Before I forget," Robin continued, "I made arrangements for you two to visit a certain marriage license clerk tomorrow."

Beast Boy blinked. "Marriage license?" he said skeptically.

Raven sighed in exasperation.

"Bruce called in a favor from an acquaintance who works as a marriage license clerk," Robin explained. "She's willing to work through the paperwork you two need for the wedding, no questions asked."

"That's great," Raven replied, quite relieved by this news.

"So when are we going?" Beast Boy inquired excitedly.

"You and Raven will be flying out to Gotham tomorrow morning, and you'll be back by late afternoon. Bruce's jet will pick you up from Jump's city limits and drop you off at the same place."

"Sweet, we get to ride in a jet!" Beast Boy enthused, doing a little victory dance.

"Yippee," Raven cheered sarcastically. "We just have to be back before dinner. Starfire wants to take me dress shopping then."

Beast Boy sniggered, and Raven glared daggers at him.

"Just be careful that no one recognizes you," Robin said uneasily. "We don't want a repeat of the jewelry store mishap."

"There was nothing we could do, Robin," Raven insisted, "Beast Boy had to take down those criminals. He took off his hologram ring and some lucky guy must have snapped a picture of us. It's no big deal."

"I know, I know," Robin assured her, holding up his hands in a defensive sort of way. "Just be careful, that's all I'm asking."

"Of course we will be careful," Raven replied spitefully. She glanced over at Beast Boy, who was still hopping about with excitement over getting to fly in a jet.

"Well, I'll be going," Robin said, retreating from the room with a wave.

Raven continued to watch Beast Boy as the kitchen door swooshed closed. "Why are you so excited?" she asked, her tone apathetic. "You get to fly in the T-Ship at least twice a month."

"But this is _Batman's_ jet, Rae!" Beast Boy grinned at her, "It's _so_ much cooler than the T-Ship!"

"It's actually Bruce Wayne's jet. And don't let Cyborg catch you saying that," Raven warned him.

Beast Boy plopped down on a stool near Raven. "Whatever," he said dismissively. "Anyway, I'm kinda surprised that you didn't want to go with Rob and Star to get the wedding cake. You know they're probably gunna get some sugary, lacey, flowery thing just to spite us, right?"

Raven sighed resignedly. "It's not a big deal. Cake is cake. Around here, if it's edible, it'll be eaten no matter what it looks like."

"No kidding. Oh! That reminds me. Do you think they'll remember to get a vegan friendly wedding cake?"

"Is it even possible to make a cake without milk and eggs?" Raven replied dubiously.

"That's a good point," Beast Boy admitted. "Maybe we can get a cake made out of–"

"Don't say it," Raven warned him, "We aren't going to have a tofu wedding cake."

"I don't see why not," Beast Boy argued. "Maybe –– hey, I've got a great idea! You know how there's usually a little figurine thingy of the bride and groom on top of the cake?"

"Yes, what's your point?"

"We should use our action figures!" Beast Boy announced brilliantly.

"That would bring tackiness to a whole new level," she responded, unimpressed.

"Aw, c'mon! It'll be cute," the changeling pleaded, "I've already got the action figures and everything."

Raven blinked at him. "And why do you have action figures of our team?" she asked, slightly disturbed.

Beast Boy shrugged. "It's a novelty."

"It's creepy," Raven muttered.

"Oh come on," Beast Boy said, rolling his eyes. "They just sit on my desk most of the time." He smiled devilishly. "That is, when I'm not using them to enact my secret fantasies."

Raven looked at him in disgust. "I sure hope you're kidding about that."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Beast Boy replied vaguely, obviously enjoying messing with her head. "Anyway, back to the wedding cake. Are we going to do that thing where we freeze the top tier of the cake and eat it on our first anniversary?"

"That would be a completely pointless tradition to keep," Raven replied.

"But it'll be so romantic," Beast Boy crooned, giving Raven his sappiest smile.

Raven looked unimpressed. "There's nothing romantic about wasting freezer space on something that'll inadvertently end up being accidentally eaten, destroyed, or just forgotten about long before one year has passed."

"You're so… unsentimental," Beast Boy pouted.

Ignoring his comment completely, Raven stood up and set her book down on the coffee table. "I'm going to meditate," Raven informed him, leaving the room without so much as glancing at her future husband.

The doors shut behind her and Beast Boy was left alone. "Yeah, see ya," he said in the direction of the closed door. He yawned, already bored of being alone in the quiet room. Maybe he'd go find Cyborg and beg him to play video games, or maybe he'd just spend some time flipping channels. Surprisingly, neither of those activities seemed quite as appealing to as they usually did. Perhaps he'd just go for a nap instead. Right then, he needed all the extra rest he could get.

TT

Robin and Starfire arrived downtown on Robin's R-Cycle, leaving it hidden in an alleyway near a main street. Both Titans were clad in casual civilian clothing, and Robin particularly enjoyed the strange experience of walking around in public without being mobbed by fans. Dark sunglasses took the place of his mask, in addition to a pair of colored contact lenses ("Just in case," he justified). Perhaps what he enjoyed the most was the jubilance with which Starfire talked on about the wedding, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was the only one excited about the occasion.

Their first stop was a little store that was known for being one of the best bakeries in the city. A single bell tinkled overhead as Robin held the door open for Starfire.

"Oh, is this not the most perfect little shop, Robin?" Starfire exclaimed with a gasp, her eyes flitting around the bright, single room store, which was crammed with many tables and displays of abundant pastry confections. The store smelled wonderfully of freshly baked bread and was impeccably clean. It was also incredibly silent, as Robin and Starfire were the only patrons.

"Sure," Robin agreed with a grin, taking in his surroundings.

Just then a young, male employee with black hair and a thin face stepped out from the back of the shop, stepping quickly through the store to greet his customers.

"Can I help you with anything?" he asked while wiping his flour-covered hands on his slightly stained white apron.

"We would very much like to see your selection of wedding cakes, please." Starfire replied.

"Alright," the employee nodded. He motioned to a table to their left. "There's a binder of our wedding cake designs. We've got eleven flavors of cake to choose from, so when you're ready I'll bring you some samples."

Robin thanked him and moved to where Starfire was already busily flipping through the laminated pages of the old binder.

Within the hour, they had selected both the design and flavor for Beast Boy and Raven's wedding cake. After paying for the confection and giving instructions to have it ready for pick-up by very early Saturday morning, Robin felt surprisingly light-hearted. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Starfire couldn't stop giggling with infectious excitement and was barely being able to keep her feet on the ground. Maybe it was because on their way out of the shop, the young, dark-haired employee called after them, wishing them well on their wedding day. But whatever the reason was, Robin was quite happy that he had given up the foolish notion that the wedding was nothing but bad news.

--

I apologize for the long wait and also that this chapter was a bit uneventful compared to the others. It was a lot of setup for the chapters to come, so bear with me.

I'd like to hear what you think about the story. Any ideas or comments would be much appreciated.

As always, thank you for reading!


	7. Gotham, Dresses, and Curses

**A.N.** Merry Christmas, dear readers! I bear the sweet gift of an update.

Many thanks for all the terrific reviews I received for the last chapter. A special thank you for this chapter goes out to the brilliant **madmartagan**, whose ideas made the following scene set in Gotham possible. He provided me with a lot of suggestions as to how I could accurately deal with the legal end of the marriage without dragging down the story or embarrassing myself for my lack of legal knowhow. This chapter turned out a whole lot better than it otherwise would have, all thanks to him.

So grab your eggnog and candy canes and please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter seven of Like It Or Not, entitled "Gotham, Dresses, and Curses"

_Wednesday, May 23; three days remaining_

"Come on, Beast Boy," Raven called in annoyance, tapping on the changeling's bedroom door impatiently, "We're already late." She scowled deeply. They were supposed to have arrived at the city limits ten minutes ago, but Beast Boy was holding them up.

"Hang on a minute," Beast Boy responded, his voice muffled by the closed door. "I can't find my hologram ring!" The noise of things being shuffled madly about could be heard and Raven huffed angrily, crossing her arms across her chest. Once again she was dressed in civilian clothing, and the itchy contact lenses that colored her eyes blue were most uncomfortable.

"Aha!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "Found it!" His door opened at once and he burst out, tugging on his left shoe as he hopped up and down in the hall. In addition to his hologram ring, he was wearing khaki pants and a wrinkled green dress shirt, which didn't exactly match Raven's black pants and purple jacket, but they hardly had time to change (not that she would have anyway).

"We haven't even left yet and you've already made us late," Raven chastised him, beginning briskly down the hall. Beast Boy stumbled after her, still trying to tie his shoelaces as he walked.

"So what kind of wedding dress are you going to get?" Beast Boy asked while they waited for the elevator to arrive at their floor.

"You'll see," Raven replied absently. Actually she hadn't given much thought at all to a wedding dress. She could only deal with so many unpleasant things at once, and tackling the wedding license issue was currently her only focus.

"Have you ever worn a dress before in your life?" the changeling inquired, finishing tying his shoes and turning his attention to taming the mess of blonde hair that had replaced his usual green mop.

Raven glared at him. "Of course I have."

"Whatever you say." Beast Boy chuckled. "So, can you at least give me a hint?"

The demoness sighed. "No. You'll find out on our wedding day."

"How romantic," Beast Boy pretended to swoon. Raven resisted the urge to shove Beast Boy as they stepped into the elevator.

TT

A sleek, black jet was waiting for Raven and Beast Boy when they finally arrived at the city limits, courtesy of Cyborg and the T-Car. The ensuing ride to Gotham was as mundane as a trip in a playboy billionaire's jet can be. Beast Boy tried to start a conversation with Raven a few different times, but gave up when she hardly glanced up from a book she had found waiting for her on the plane. After roaming about the plush cabin until he got bored, Beast Boy spent the majority of the flight playing with the extensive stereo system, which Raven tried hard to ignore.

At long last the jet began its descent, passing through a layer of thick, swirling, grey clouds. A number of minutes later found the jet on a lone landing strip in the middle of a dark, forested area.

Raven stretched her arms over her head and sighed, peering out one of the aircraft's many thick windows. It was a damp, foggy morning, which reflected her dismal mood quite well. She peered around for Beast Boy, finally spotting him curled up on a seat a few rows behind her. He was sleeping soundly, head resting on his forearms, and snoring lightly.

"Beast Boy," Raven called testily, marveling at how he could possible sleep under the stressful circumstances. She stood from her seat, making her muscles protest the sudden movement after being still for so long.

The boy lazily opened one eye and looked at her. He groaned but wisely noted the empath's apparent aggravation. He stretched luxuriously and slowly stood up, glancing about the cabin.

"We here already?" he asked with a yawn that revealed the pointed teeth his hologram ring apparently didn't mask.

"Obviously," Raven replied with a sigh.

"So, uh, ready to go do this thing?" Beast Boy asked awkwardly, scratching his shoulder with a hand that felt unusually sensitive without his glove in place.

''Not by any stretch of the imagination," she replied easily.

"Oh. Well, we just sign a couple papers and that's it for today, right?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Raven replied. "Come on. There's no sense in waiting." She turned deliberately and made for the door. Beast Boy swallowed and trailed after her.

TT

Raven straightened her jacket and squinted up at the bold, gold letters that were carved into the marble panel above the building's entranceway. The tarnished inscription read "Gotham City Courthouse." She glanced over her shoulder at the curb, where Beast Boy was just stepping out of the sedan that had been waiting to take them from the landing strip. He caught up to her quickly, fingers fidgeting around his hologram ring.

Beast Boy's eyes flicked up to the looming building. The courthouse was a gigantic stone edifice that looked a bit out of place in the middle of rundown businesses and apartment buildings. It was built entirely of white and gray marble, with huge brass doors at the top of a steep staircase.

"You sure this is the right place?" Beast Boy asked, even though the answer was obvious.

Raven sighed again and wrapped her jacket more tightly about her shoulders as a damp breeze swept at the dead leaves around their feet. She glanced up at the sky, where the ominous layer of clouds still blocked out the sun and threatened rain.

Wraught iron window grilles that made the building look more like a prison than anything else covered the courthouse's windows. Deep cracks spidered across its front, and the remains of years of graffiti still stood out where it had been scrubbed at in vain. But despite the ancient building's state of disrepair, it stood regally among the other sordid buildings that lined the streets. From their vantage point hardly anyone was in sight, but both Titans felt the distinct, uneasy feeling of being watched.

Raven fought the strong urge to turn back and hail down a cab to take them far away from this forbidding building in the middle of a crumbling city that just seemed to exude danger. She marveled at the idea that Robin once called such a dilapidated place home, and she suddenly felt a strong appreciation for her clean, bright Jump City.

Beast Boy took her hand, distracting her from her troubled thoughts. Raven glanced at him sharply, but her expression died when she noted that his eyes betrayed only the same unease that filled her. Raven's fingers curled around Beast Boy's warm hand, and she felt slightly less anxious.

The two started up the stairs together, carefully making their way up the dangerously slick stone steps toward the brass doors. When they reached the top Beast Boy pulled open the heavy door and they walked inside quickly. A heavy mist had just begun to fall outside.

It was like they had stepped into a completely different world when the walked into the courthouse. While the dank city streets had been filled only with the distant sounds of traffic, the interior of the courthouse was loud and bright. People, most dressed in business suits, hustled through the visible hallways, their hurried footsteps resonating against the black and white tiled floors. Several telephones were ringing from what appeared to be a receptionist's desk, and the unintelligible din of dozens of voices filled the room.

Raven drew herself up and made her way with Beast Boy over to the receptionist's desk, where several women hurried to answer phones, scribbling notes madly and paging offices.

"Excuse me?" Beast Boy said uncertainly. The nearest receptionist, an elderly woman with a phone held over her ear, glanced sharply at him.

"What do you need?" she clipped, tapping a pen against the desk in impatience.

Beast Boy swallowed.

"We need a marriage license. Could you tell us where we could find a clerk?" Raven spoke up.

The woman at the desk set down her telephone and regarded the couple carefully.

"Floor three. I believe you're expected there," she replied, and then turned her attention back to her desk.

Raven thanked the woman and made her way with Beast Boy over to the elevators.

It wasn't difficult to find the right office. After navigating through the halls for a while, Raven came across a door with a gilded sign that read, "BETTY DACKET, Marriage License Dept." in black type.

"Here it is," Raven announced, calling over Beast Boy as she knocked gently on the glass. Beast Boy quickly stepped over, checking for the millionth time that his hologram ring was secure, and combing through his wild blonde hair with his fingers.

The door opened seconds later and a short, tight-lipped woman with graying hair and kind, steel-blue eyes peered out at them. Her roaming gaze locked first on Raven and then turned to Beast Boy. She took only a moment to size them up, then her face broke into a smile that made her eyes wrinkle.

"I've been expecting you," she said warmly, and she stepped back, beckoning the two into her office. She carefully shut the door behind them after quickly scanning the halls.

The office felt surprisingly comfortable for being in such a dismal and hectic building, and although little light shone through the sole window, white painted walls and numerous vases of flowers brightened the room significantly. Two simple wooden chairs were placed in front of an ornately carved, glossy oak desk.

The woman rounded her desk, eyes hardly leaving the Titans.

"Welcome to Gotham. My name is Betty Dacket, but please call me Betty. I understand you two need a marriage license, is that right?" she asked kindly.

"Yes it is," Raven replied simply.

Betty nodded and eyed Raven in a warm, grandmotherly sort of way.

"Yes, yes. What a lovely couple," she said fondly, stepping back to regard them both at once. "You are making a wise choice, you know. Not many people your age have this sort of responsibility, but it really is the best time."

Raven looked at her blankly.

"Tell me, dear," Betty turned to Raven, "How far along are you? I can hardly tell."

Raven tried to figure out the meaning of Betty's words.

"Oh," she said as realization finally dawned, "No, I'm not––"

"Now now, darling," Betty said, raising a hand in a grandmotherly sort of way, "I'm not going to judge."

Raven tried not to blush and looked to Beast Boy for support. He wouldn't meet her gaze.

"She's really not, uh, pregnant," he replied.

Betty nodded in understanding. "Don't look so nervous," she laughed. "Don't you worry. I won't tell a soul. Like I said, you two are doing the right thing, so I won't tattle on you." She winked at them. "Please, sit down. This shouldn't take long."

Beast Boy and Raven took the offered seats, still not able to look at each other, as Betty shuffled through her desk.

"First of all," Betty began, perching a pair of glasses on her nose, "I need your names."

"Uh, I'm Garfield…Logan and this is Rachel," Beast Boy offered. "Rachel…" he trailed off, looking to Raven for help.

"Roth," she muttered.

"Ah, Rachel. A lovely name," Betty replied reminiscently, apparently either not noticing or deciding to disregard Beast Boy's strange inability to produce the last name of his fiancée. "My granddaughter's name is Rachel. The poor thing's mother wasn't as lucky as you, dear," she said, casting Raven a stern look. "Ana - that's my youngest daughter - had a real tramp of a boyfriend. He ran off to New Jersey when he got the news of her pregnancy." She snorted indignantly. "You're blessed to have a man who's brave enough to account for his actions."

Betty sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I have been told not to expect you to have your Social Security numbers or birth certificates on you," she said, folding her hands on her desktop. "You must understand that under normal circumstances you would have incredible difficulty obtaining a marriage license without either of those resources. But anything is possible for those who have the right connections, hm?" Betty looked at them knowingly. "Many people in this city owe favors to him who protects us. I'm happy to do what I can in return." She produced a number of papers from a manila folder on her desk as she spoke and gave several of them to each of the teens, who accepted them wordlessly.

"You'll need to sign these first, then I must make a couple of calls," she explained. "I'm sure we can find someone to vouch for the information you give me if necessary, but, regardless, there are certain things that I'm sure that will need to be, eh, modified because of your unique situation." Betty nodded at them significantly.

Raven scanned the form in front of her before jotting down her signature. Beast Boy did the same, and as soon as Betty took up the forms again, she excused herself and stepped out of the office. The door shut firmly behind the elderly clerk, and Beast Boy and Raven were left in complete silence.

A few minutes passed and the quiet remained unbroken. Beast Boy cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So… she thinks you're pregnant," he remarked casually.

Raven nodded slowly, crossing her arms and staring at a tin pencil cup on Betty's desk.

"Why else would people think I'm marrying you?" she responded thoughtfully.

"My irresistible charm? Young love?" Beast Boy offered with a shrug. "I dunno. But it bugs me that she just assumed."

"And so will everyone else," Raven pointed out. "And it is foolish for people our age to trick themselves into believing the illusion of having actual love."

Beast Boy didn't say anything, and the room was silent once more. Rain splattered against the window as wind gusted against the building, and Raven turned her attention to the foggy windowpanes.

"Raven Logan," she said aloud with a sigh a few minutes later, as if testing out how the name felt on her lips. She grimaced slightly. "Doesn't have much of a ring to it."

Beast Boy looked offended. "What's wrong with it?"

The empath rolled her eyes. "Nothing, Beast Boy. It's fine."

The room fell into silence again and Raven resumed staring out the window.

"Ya know you don't have to change your name if you really can't stand it, right?" Beast Boy offered.

"Actually I do," Raven bit back, shooting him a look, "It is optional on Earth, but under Azarathian law, I'm required to take on your surname."

"Then I guess you're stuck with it," Beast Boy said with a shrug.

Raven went back to staring at the pencil cup on Betty's desk.

It took almost twenty minutes for Betty to return, and the time seemed to drag on forever. For having such a busy lobby, the courthouse's third floor was deceptively vacant. Raven could hear Betty's nearing footsteps long before she arrived in front of the door.

Betty reentered the room and was careful to shut the door behind her before speaking.

"Alright, Mr. Logan, Miss Roth, everything seems to be in order," she announced happily as she traveled back to her desk. "There are just a few things more that require your signatures, and then you can be on your way."

Betty passed several complicated forms to them. Raven scanned the pages she was given, attempted to decipher the legal jargon as much as possible, and jotted down her signature. Betty collected the papers from her and Beast Boy and carefully added her own signature and a stamp to the bottom of each page. She then carefully filed the papers away and took out a final page, which she identified as the actual license. Betty placed the single paper into an envelope, and gave them careful instructions to return it to her upon the completion of the wedding.

"Well," she sighed, "That just about does it. You two should be all set."

Raven tried to smile. "Thank you for your help," she said.

Betty grinned benevolently. "Oh, I'm more than happy to help. It's nice to see such commitment in young people." She sighed again as she stood, rounding the desk to shake their hands. She stepped over to Beast Boy first. Even with her high-heeled shoes she stood several inches shorter than him.

"I'm very proud of you, young man," she began, taking Beast Boy's hand and patting it warmly, "It's very admirable that you want to do the right thing. You take care of your wife now, and when the baby gets here, I know you'll be a wonderful father." Betty pinched his cheek fondly as Beast Boy flushed. "You do have the means of providing for your new family, don't you?"

"Providing? Well, that's not–– I mean, I guess?" Beast Boy stammered dumbly.

"Good. Well, I wish you the best of luck," Betty said with a heartfelt smile, taking his hand again and shaking it warmly.

"Thanks," he replied, as Betty turned her attention to his fiancée.

"And you, Rachel," Betty said quietly, tugging Raven aside by the sleeve, "You are very fortunate to have such a responsible young man to take care of you. I do hope that you feel due gratitude for that. Darling, you have certainly made some mistakes, but I know a good couple when one comes along. I am sure that you and your Garfield will be very happy together."

"I hope that everything works out," Raven offered, hoping that she came across as more sincere than she felt.

Betty nodded in understanding and hugged her tightly.

"I know this is a scary time for you, dear, but you've made the right choice to marry him," the clerk assured her.

Raven nodded awkwardly, stepping back as soon as she was released. Betty handed her the envelope that contained the marriage license, repeated her instructions to return it as soon as the wedding was over, and wished the couple well again.

The Titans were only too happy to get out of the room, and as soon as Betty's office door shut behind them, Beast Boy heaved a sigh of relief.

"I am so glad that's over," he moaned, careful to keep his voice down, and started down the hall quickly.

"Me too," Raven agreed. "Thank you for not acting too immature in there."

Beast Boy chuckled. "Raven, I promise to be a wonderful father to your baby when it comes."

Raven bit back a grin. "Don't joke about the clerk," she muttered as they neared the elevators, "It's only normal that she would assume."

"That's kinda sad, don't you think?" Beast Boy mused. "That just 'cause we're young Betty was sure that's why we're getting married?"

"First of all, neither of us have a grasp on what would be considered normal," Raven reminded him. "But I would say it is fairly realistic to assume that people our age would only get married if they were either horribly shortsighted or, in fact, pregnant. Second, it's the haste with which we're getting married that's going to make everyone assume the worst, not to mention that we're obviously actively trying to keep it a complete secret."

Beast Boy sighed tiredly. "God, why do you have to be so analytical all the time, Rae?"

"It's called thinking logically. You should try it sometime."

"Oh, come on! I _am_ logical," Beast Boy whined.

Raven cast him a disbelieving look and did not reply. The elevator released them on the first floor a moment later and submerged them into the cacophony of lobby noises once again.

But one noise immediately stood out to Raven as different from when they entered the building. Her eyes flicked over to the entrance, where a loud commotion of voices and flashing lights was crowded around the doors. A moment later a very tall, important looking man in a black suit pushed his way through the group of cameramen, walking quickly in their direction.

Raven's eyes widened. Ducking quickly she took Beast Boy's wrist, pulling him away from the elevators toward the right side of the lobby. She didn't allow herself to look up until the camera flashes stopped and the elevator had apparently departed.

"We cannot let any more pictures be taken of us like this," Raven ground out in exasperation. "Robin would kill us."

"Chill out," Beast Boy replied easily, leading them towards the doors. "We're hours away from JC, we're not doing anything incriminating, and even if we were, we're both disguised, so no one could tell who we were anyway. Ha!"

"Ha?"

"Yes. Ha. Now that, my love, is logic in action," the changeling said triumphantly.

"I'm impressed. But Robin would still murder us just for being careless enough to be caught in a picture in the first place," Raven replied. "And I'm not your love."

"I just figured I'd start small with the pet names, Cuddle Bunny," Beast Boy said with a shrug.

"If we weren't at the top of a very steep staircase in the middle of this strange, godforsaken city, I'd make you pay for that," Raven warned him.

"Threaten me if you will, Cupcake, but by your own logic, I've got at least two more years of life guaranteed to me."

"So you've accepted that this will only be lasting two years then?"

"No, but I'm not about to go and die if it means you'd die too." With that Beast Boy put an arm amiably around her shoulders, and Raven didn't work up the will to shrug it off until they neared the curb.

TT

Raven had only been allowed several hours of reprieve after returning from Gotham before Starfire dragged her off dress shopping. Raven had apathetically watched Starfire bounce about the common room as she attempted to forget about her morning excursion over a cup of hot tea and a good mystery novel, but when the exuberant alien began tugging at her cloak, Raven knew she couldn't put off the trip much longer.

And so the Titan girls departed, one in significantly better spirits than the other, bound for what was known to be the best dress shop in all of Jump City.

From the moment they entered the first store and an overly happy attendant with pep to rival Starfire's met them at the door, Raven knew this would not be a pleasurable experience. Not in the slightest.

"X'Hal!" Starfire exclaimed, "I have never seen such a glorious place!"

Raven sighed. "Sweet Azar, take me now," she muttered, as Starfire skipped off to the first aisle of dresses. Moving faster than Beast Boy on caffeine, Starfire bounced from aisle to aisle, riffling through racks of gowns, pulling out her favorites (at least every other dress, actually) for Raven to try on.

Within two minutes of entering the store, Starfire returned to Raven, who was still cowering near the entrance, with a mound of clothing that towered over her head.

"I believe you should begin by trying on these," she said sweetly, spinning around and making her way to the fitting area.

Raven followed slowly, pointedly ignoring several salespeople as they accosted her en route to her dressing room.

The first dress Raven tried on was a putrid peach color. It was long enough to trail on the floor even when she held it up, and a large satin bow tied the corset-like top in place. Shaking her head in disgust, Raven glanced at the second and third dresses in the pile. The second was a traditional white with puffed sleeves and a plunging neckline that she was sure would reach her navel. The third was the exact opposite, sporting not only long, lacy sleeves but also a turtleneck. The fourth actually wasn't too bad. It was a simple, light purple gown, but when she tried it on, Raven discovered that the chest was far too tight to be comfortable.

"Raven?" Starfire called from the other side of the door, "Are you having much success in your search?"

"Not yet," Raven said between clenched teeth as she struggled vainly with the zipper on the fourth dress.

The first pile of dresses, in which there turned out to be thirteen gowns, took almost twenty minutes to finish trying on. After finally finishing with them, Raven realized that Starfire needed some sort of guidelines to follow, and set a few simple parameters to observe. Raven waited in her dressing room, sitting on the single chair and rubbing her temples, as Starfire eagerly ran out to find more.

Luckily, the second lot of dresses was better. Only one of nine was too horrendous to try on, and Raven narrowed the bunch down to a single dress, which she actually allowed Starfire to view her in. A simple off white, it had a swooped neck that reached several inches below her collarbone at its lowest point. Iridescent silver lace decorated the hem and the short sleeves. Raven ultimately decided against the gown, however, and despite Starfire's subsequent searching, the store did not seem to have anything better to offer.

And so, leaving the store attendants scurrying to pick up after them, Raven and Starfire left the store.

The second shop they tried, a small corner boutique maybe twenty minutes away from the first, contained only modern dresses. Raven took one glance at the mannequins in the window, all dressed up in loud colors and slinky styles, and refused to enter the building, no matter how much Starfire pleaded.

"Please, friend Raven!" Starfire begged, "Do not judge the book by its protective covering!"

"For the last time, Starfire," Raven cried in exasperation, "I am not going into a store that doesn't sell a _single_ white wedding dress."

"I do not understand your opposition to beautiful colors," Starfire replied.

"Pastels I understand, but neons?" Raven said skeptically, motioning with disgust to a rather vibrant yellow ball gown.

After several minutes of convincing, Raven managed to get Starfire to pass up the store. They headed toward their third stop, which was only a few streets away.

They entered the shop, and similar to their entrance into the first, Starfire quickly ran off to pick out her favorite dresses. Deciding that it would make the process slightly less time consuming if she trailed Starfire along, Raven begrudgingly trailed a few feet behind the alien, unenthusiastically nodding or shaking her head whenever Starfire took a dress from an aisle. With every passing minute she was growing more and more sure that there wasn't a dress in the world she would feel happy about wearing.

Upbeat as always, Starfire took a rather frilly pale purple gown from one of the racks, holding it up for Raven to admire.

"This dress is most divine, is it not?" Starfire gushed, twirling the dress about and watching the bright lights make the copious sequins around the bodice glimmer.

Raven sighed hopelessly. "It's alright," she replied tepidly.

"Please! Try it on!" Starfire insisted, shoving the hanger into Raven's hands.

Raven groaned but retreated to the fitting room, angrily brushing away an eager sales associate with a box of pins and a measuring tape.

Raven threw on the dress (it had to be the thirtieth dress she had tried on that day, and her patience was shot), examining herself briefly in the expansive mirror. The gown fell several inches above the floor and the sleeves fit awkwardly. Grumbling in exasperation, Raven slipped off the gown and redressed quickly.

"Oh good, you have returned!" Starfire greeted her as she emerged from the dressing rooms.

Raven didn't even have time to offer a reply before another hanger was shoved into her hands.

"I am certain that you will find this garment most enchanting," Starfire said happily.

Sighing to herself, Raven turned and walked directly back to the fitting room, wisely keeping her mouth closed. She restrained herself from slamming the rickety dressing room door shut. After a deep, calming breath, Raven held up the dress in front of the mirror.

She turned it carefully, and for the first time that afternoon, Raven felt hopeful that all was not lost. She carefully removed the dress from the hanger and pulled it over her head, smoothing it out gently. Raven examined the dress closely in the mirror, running her hand absently down one of the silky ribbed sides. Finally, a dress that wasn't something out of a fairytale ball or a runway magazine. It was a decent enough length, probably just long enough to brush the floor if she wore a pair of heels. The dress was an elegant light blue, so light that it was practically white, with a smattering of beads that glinted purple when they caught the light. The beads were scattered liberally across the material and more concentrated at the hem. It was a sleeveless dress, the neckline cutting evenly across her chest, just high enough for her not to feel too terribly self-conscious about wearing it in front of other people.

"Raven?" Starfire called from nearby the door. "Have you finished trying on your dress? I have found several others which I am quite certain you will adore!"

Raven carefully moved to the door, opening it so Starfire could see her.

"You know what, Star?" Raven said matter-of-factly, "This one will do."

Starfire squealed, dropped the dresses that had been in her arms, and was suddenly floating in the air in jubilance. Zipping over to the bride-to-be, Starfire enveloped her friend in a hug.

"Oh Raven, you look so beautiful! This is truly the most perfect dress for you, yes? It fits you wonderfully. And look, the beads match your hair!" Starfire smiled brilliantly at her friend, and Raven couldn't help but grin back.

"Starfire, you're not supposed to fly in public, remember?" Raven said, and Starfire immediately dropped back to the ground.

"Of course," she replied. "You will certainly purchase this wondrous garment, yes?"

"Why not?" Raven shrugged. She couldn't help but feel excited. The curse might have taken her empathic abilities, but no human could be in close proximity with Starfire and not be affected by such happiness. Raven was also quite relieved that they could finally go home, where she looked forward to finishing her novel and not thinking about the wedding.

TT

Raven had only just gotten home for the second time that day, and had just returned to her novel when Beast Boy burst into the room, asking about her outing.

While her spirits had been slightly lifted by finally finding a decent dress, her patience was never that easy to recover, especially after a day as long and painful as this one had been. Besides her book, the only thing that brought her pleasure at the moment was the fact that she was comfortable in her own leotard and cape once again, and out of that horribly uncomfortable civilian clothing.

"So did you get one?" Beast Boy asked, dancing around the table where she sat.

Raven cast her eyes heavenward, praying for composure.

"Yes, Beast Boy," she replied in boredom.

"What's it look like?" he asked, taking the chair next to her and propping an elbow on the table.

"What I told you this morning still stands," she replied evenly.

Beast Boy huffed. "You're no fun," he said.

"I can live with that."

"Don't I know it." Beast Boy tilted back his chair so that it was balancing on two legs. "By the way," he spoke up, "Rob's looking for us."

Raven closed her eyes and groaned to herself.

"Why is Robin looking for us?" she asked, begging that it wasn't more wedding stuff.

"I think its more wedding stuff," Beast Boy replied.

'_Damn it all_,' Raven thought to herself.

Before she could respond, the hydraulic doors to the room opened, and Robin stepped into the room.

"Good, you're both here," the Boy Wonder said. He stepped into the room, clutching several folders in a gloved hand. He made his way over to Raven and Beast Boy and took a seat across from them.

"I suppose you both can guess why I wanted to talk to you?" he asked.

Raven nodded curtly.

"Wedding stuff?" Beast Boy replied.

"Right." Robin pulled a few papers out of one of his folders. He spun one of the papers around so they could read the text on the page.

Raven only needed a glance at it before her expression went sour.

"A copy of a few different traditional wedding vows," Robin stated for Beast Boy's benefit.

Beast Boy skimmed the page and wrinkled his nose. "Is this actually what we have to say? It's so cheesy!"

"It's not uncommon for the bride and groom to modify the vows if they deem it necessary," Robin said. "And obviously we will need to make a few modifications to fit your situation. The 'for as long as you both shall live' part, for example."

Beast Boy looked appalled. "Don't tell me you're jumping on that now too! Just 'cause Raven's being stubborn doesn't mean it's really gotta happen like that."

"Yes it does," Raven stated in a finalizing tone. She did not feel like debating the issue yet again, especially when she was just barely able to tolerate the thoughts of marriage accosting her tired mind for the millionth time that day. "And the part about obeying your husband will need to be cut out," Raven added as an afterthought.

Beast Boy shot Raven a look.

"What," she said spitefully, "You expected me to agree to _that_?"

"Well no," Beast Boy replied dully.

"Raven, are there any Azarathian vows you need to add?" Robin asked, scribbling down a few things on a paper in front of him.

"The issues of consensual abstinence and two year termination obviously," Raven responded. "There may be others that I am obligated to include. I'll get back to you on that."

"Alright. And Beast Boy, anything in particular you know you want to add?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest angrily. "What's it matter? Anything I suggest'll just get shot down by marriage killer Raven."

"Don't be immature," Raven fired back.

"Me?" Beast Boy said loudly. "Do we even _need_ to go through this again?"

"No, you don't," Robin said calmly, holding up a hand. "Or at least wait until I'm gone. Beast Boy, is there anything you know you want to include?" he repeated.

"Well, just take out the love and cherish part, alright?" he replied angrily.

Raven took a moment to reply. "Fine by me," she tried to say scathingly. It sounded a little flat even to her own ears, but she kept a steady gaze with Beast Boy anyway.

Beast Boy's expression was suddenly drained of its fury as quickly as it had been filled, transitioning into a blank sort of sullenness. "That's really how it's going to be?" he asked resignedly, making Raven feel uncomfortable with his unusually unreadable look.

Raven only nodded silently.

"Can we finish this up later?" Beast Boy inquired hollowly, turning his attention to Robin, "I have to go do something."

Beast Boy rose from the table and quickly walked for the door.

Neither Robin nor Raven called out for Beast Boy as he crossed the room quickly, and he exited the room silently.

Raven couldn't meet Robin's gaze. She heard him exhale deliberately, and cursed herself for not knowing when to shut up.

"Are you sure that you're going about this in the right way?" Robin asked.

"Of course," Raven replied automatically.

Her leader looked skeptical. "Maybe you need to reconsider what's actually best for the team then."

"What do you mean by that?"

Robin shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "This is pretty hard on Beast Boy, you know. He's got to be as anxious as you are, and your stubbornness isn't helping the situation."

"If _he_ wasn't so stubborn with his impractical, romanticized opinions then this wouldn't be difficult."

"You mean it wouldn't be difficult if he always agreed with you and went along with everything you wanted." Robin said. "And he's the one being unrealistic?"

"Then you expect me to compromise on issues like abstinence? Obeying him? I would be foolish to accept what Beast Boy wants. Behind the costume, he's just another teenage boy. I refuse to compromise with someone so easily run by hormones and whims."

"That's understandable," Robin agreed, "But you have to learn to trust him. You don't give Beast Boy enough credit. He's been through a lot and he's not an idiot, so stop assuming that he'll just end up hurting you. That is the issue here, isn't it?" Robin let his words sink in for a moment before continuing. "I thought you would be able to see beyond the façade he puts up around us," Robin said sadly. "Look, if you want the next two years to be bearable, you need to learn to see things more realistically."

Raven shook her head sadly. "I don't think these next two years will be bearable, Robin, no matter what I do. Beast Boy and I are just too different and too young."

Robin paused to collect his papers. He carefully stacked them in a pile and stood to leave.

"I can't change your mind," he said, "But as your leader I advise you to consider if you really have the best interests of the team at heart."

No sooner had he finished speaking, the Tower's alarm system sounded. Red lights flashed rhythmically in every room, illuminating everything for a fraction of a second in ruby light with the swelling of the electronic siren.

Robin cast Raven a knowing glance.

"I know, I know, I'm staying here," she said in aggravation, not even bothering to stand.

Robin nodded and whipped out his T-Com as he dashed from the room. His call of "Titans! Report!" could be heard echoing through the halls as the doors shut.

In a minute the red lights stopped flashing and in two minutes Raven could hear the T-Car being dispatched across the bay. Raven slumped down in her chair and leaned her face on her hands, feeling completely useless.

She couldn't bear just sitting there!

She made for the foyer with her book, although she was certain that she wouldn't be able to enjoy it any longer, and sat down. When the stillness in the room around her became unbearable, Raven began to pace.

One long hour later her teammates returned. Raven was still waiting for them in the foyer when they arrived. First Robin stormed in, alone and furious, making his way rapidly across the room and disappearing deeper into the Tower without a word.

"Well that can't be good news," Raven muttered to herself and frowned.

Starfire and Cyborg soon walked in. They appeared to be in far better spirits than their brave leader.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire exclaimed upon seeing the empath. She floated over to her and gave the girl a tight hug. "Have you heard about our battle?"

Raven shook her head.

"Battle? Ya can't even call it that." Cyborg sighed. "Rob's not happy, to say the least."

"So I surmised," Raven replied. "What happened?"

"Not much. Another factory was looted. Same method used as last time, and no clues were left behind. Another three hundred pounds of steel, gone. And it gets better. The media was there by the time we showed up. They were pretty quick to accuse us of slipping, this being the third robbery and all, and I'm pretty sure Rob took that to heart," Cy replied with a shrug.

"And Robin cares about what the media thinks why?" Raven asked.

"Robin does not understand the insignificance of the media and its… less than insightful opinions," Starfire said sadly.

"And in case you're wondering, grass stain's already on his patrol shift. Volunteered to take mine too, as a matter of fact. I'm almost tempted to let him," Cyborg told Raven.

Raven's brow furrowed. Beast Boy was probably still upset over their latest feud.

"I think I will go find Robin," Starfire said solemnly, drifting off.

Cyborg and Raven went on their separate ways soon after. Still feeling bad, Raven briefly entertained the possibility of going out to find Beast Boy. Knowing him, he would be out all night patrolling just to stay out of the Tower, assuming that he was still angry with her.

For the remainder of the day Raven found refuge alone in her room. She felt miserable, both ashamed at her own uselessness and worried for Beast Boy's sake, despite their earlier falling out.

He was just so damn childish! There wasn't much he wouldn't do, even when not under the influence of anger. She definitely knew what he was like when furious and did not want to see him get hurt tonight because of a feeling she caused.

"I swear, if he gets himself killed…" Raven said aloud, letting her voice trail off, because she wasn't at all certain what she would do if something like that happened to Beast Boy.

For the second time that day, Raven took up pacing. She drew her curtains so her bedroom was as dark as it could be. That way she didn't have to see the city outside, where Beast Boy was, liable to do something stupid and get himself hurt.

Hours trickled by. The sun set, noise from the city died down, and the moon rose. And still Raven paced, sickeningly full of doubt and concern. Against her better judgment she allowed herself to descend into the same mutinous thoughts that were constantly lingering in her mind these days, for lack of something better to keep her worried thoughts from Beast Boy.

How could the rulers of Azarath actually see fit to curse her like this? Weren't they aware that by taking her powers and forcing marriage upon her, they were hurting some of the only people who were still fighting against evil? All this conflict and tension was completely avoidable and solely the fault of the dead rulers of a hopeless, dying planet. Hadn't they realized that perhaps marrying young to have children wasn't the best option in every circumstance? It was completely infuriating!

Her anger flared for hours until Raven was driven into utter exhaustion, and just when she would begin to cool down, a stray thought would begin to tickle at the back of her mind, forcing her to see that perhaps the curse wasn't the root of all of her problems. Robin was convinced that she needed to trust Beast Boy, but that seemed out of the question. And how many times now had she been called closed minded in the last few days? But that was preposterous, really. She was being quite reasonable, considering everything. Even if everyone else in the Tower was all for her giving up her identity and learning overnight to trust blindly, she sure as hell knew better.

Was it just her imagination, or was the air becoming unbearably stifling? Raven unlatched her cloak, tossing it onto a chair.

Feeling more like a caged animal than she had felt in a long time, Raven continued to pace around her room, phasing between self-righteous fury and brief spells of doubt.

Suddenly she halted her pacing. Raven suddenly felt dizzy and slightly nauseous. Hoping that she had just been pacing for too long, she sat on the edge of her bed, waiting for the unwelcome feeling to pass. However, the aforementioned sensations only intensified steadily, causing Raven to panic. Could this be another one of those attacks?

Her vision began to dim and she started to sweat. Raven fell against her bed, as she suddenly felt too weak to sit. She ached. Oh Azar, she was sure that her skin had been set on fire, and there was suddenly a horrible, throbbing pressure on her head, as though her skull was caving in. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. The sudden onslaught of pain was blinding her, pulsing with her heartbeat, itching through her veins, and growing even more unbearable with every slowly passing moment.

"Stop," Raven moaned weakly. Her throat was dry and searing hot, and her bones burned as if being eaten by acid.

Her body could only take so much! Raven had never experienced this sort of all-encompassing torment before, and wondered miserably if this was what hell was like. Could this possibly be a taste of the eternal punishment that was in store for her if she did not obey the curse? No, it was far too great to bear for even a few moments, let alone the rest of time! Raven had to stop it. But what had she done to deserve such retribution? She was marrying Beast Boy in two days, which was what the damn curse required! Why should she have to like it, as long as she was obeying?

_A closed mind will be your demise_.

That lone sentence reverberated powerfully through her mind, but she was experiencing too much trauma to even recognize if it was her own thought. All she knew for certain was that she was utterly immobile, suffering unjustly at the mercy of the unrelenting curse. Was she really meant to die now?

Raven had to find relief quickly, but how? She was obeying the curse, so what more could be done? She had to prove that she had surrendered and was not fighting the law, but how could she possibly do that without being able to speak or even move?

Then it occurred to her: Beast Boy. He was perhaps the only living, breathing, proof that she was submitting to the curse! She wasn't sure why, but for some reason Raven felt confident that her fiancée could save her. If he was out on patrol though, she was truly lost. She didn't know how to get to him or what he could possibly do, but Raven trusted that if there was anything that could help her, it was him. The agony that ravaged her immobile body showed no sign of letting up, and Raven was certain that she could not take much more of it. Raven focused intently on the changeling, fighting against the pain that pounded against her brain.

Her feelings of urgency gave way to a flicker of hope as a strange sensation overloaded her senses, washing over but not taking away the pain. Raven suddenly felt like her body was moving, but not being able to see anything but darkness, she was completely disoriented.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the pain was completely gone. She was left feeling utterly numb, her body ringing from the abrupt change. Raven saw silver stars swimming in the blackness around her. She didn't even know if she was breathing, but she tried to take air into her lungs anyway. Still, there was absolutely no sensation in her body.

Minutes crawled by, and very slowly, the leaden daze began to fade. The process was excruciatingly slow, but Raven began to be aware of her surroundings as feeling seeped back into her body.

The first thing she felt was a gentle pressure against her entire front. She figured that she was lying on her stomach. Next, she was aware that she was lying against something soft, something that had a faintly musty, familiar scent that her groggy mind couldn't quite place. Normally she would be eager to figure out what had happened to her, but presently, Raven couldn't care less where she was. With her strength gone and body feeling utterly drained of life, all she wanted to do was lie motionless and recover.

--

Anyone want to guess what happened to Raven or what will happen next? I'll mention your username in the next chapter if you guess correctly. Good luck.

The next chapter is basically written already, so it shouldn't take me too terribly long to post up. I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and I sincerely wish you a wonderful remainder of your holiday season.

Want to make my Christmas special? Then why not drop me a review? Every single one is like a gift to my poor, starving soul.

As always, thank you for reading!


	8. Roommates

**A.N.** I got a lot of positive feedback on the last chapter, and I really appreciate all the encouragement and suggestions that have been sent my way. My thanks goes out to those of you who left me reviews, and especially those of you who responded to my little contest and guessed where Raven was. Everyone who guessed correctly is listed at the bottom. This chapter took me a little longer to turn out than I thought it would, but I hope it was worth the wait.

Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter eight of Like It Or Not, entitled "Roommates"

_Thursday, May 24; two days remaining_

The darkened room was illuminated only by the watery, white-yellow light cast by a few buzzing light bulbs that hung precariously from exposed wires across the ceiling rafters. A heavy foot tapped impatiently against the cracked concrete floor, the rhythmic noise reverberating off the stone walls of the otherwise silent underground chamber. The room's sole occupant growled with impatience. It must have been just before daybreak, and he'd be damned if he was going to wait there much longer.

The creaking of a door made him turn his head and squint into the darkness ahead of him. The sound of loud, shuffling footsteps made his visitor's approach known, and a hulking figure made its way into the dank room. The visitor was obviously wary from the time he set foot in the chamber. A bungling, muscle-bound brute, he kept shifting his weight as he glanced around the room suspiciously, obviously expecting some sort of trap.

"Well, I showed up," the visitor announced, his harsh voice breaking the eerie, pre-dawn silence.

"You're taking me up on my offer then?" the first man asked evenly, affecting a domineering expression.

The brutish second man shrugged his massive shoulders. "I'm listenin'," he replied simply, crossing his arms and planting his feet.

"I'll make this quick," the first villain promised. "I'm just looking for some help with a little, uh, _project_ I've been wanting to do."

"What's that?" the visitor asked suspiciously.

"What else?" his host snorted, "I'm gunna bring down those runts who call themselves heroes, like I should've a long time ago."

The guest guffawed loudly. "Yeah, you and every one'a us."

The first man narrowed his eyes in irritation at his guest's reaction. "Lousy kids only get lucky in fights 'cause it's five against one."

"So you're saying we team up then? You 'n' me take down the Titans?"

The host shook his head. "No, but I'm gunna have a little fun, and I knew you'd want in. You've heard all about how I got away takin' six hundred pounds of steel, I'm sure," the first man boasted.

"I'll be damned," the second man whistled in amazement. "That was you?"

"Wasn't even that hard."

"Huh. Well looks to me like you got it pretty good then. So 'xactly what do ya need my help for?"

The first man shrugged. "I need a favor. It's nothing difficult, and I'll pay you for your trouble. I'd do it all myself, but you've got opportunities that would be a whole lot harder for me to come by."

"So, what's your plan?" the visitor questioned, his obviously mounting interest shining through the wariness in his voice.

"I," the first man said smugly in reply, "Am going to take out one of the Titans. Without 'im the rest of those kids won't last long. I know their type. They'll get all torn up without their little friend, then I'll finish them off easy. Jump City'll be lost without 'em, and guys like us'll be free to, eh, step up and take what we deserve."

The hulking visitor snorted. "That's a whole lotta talk for a man hiding underground. So you want me to _kill_ one of them or something?"

The host shook his head. "There's no fun in that. If were gunna make the Titans fall, we might as well milk it. We've gotta destroy 'em on all sides and make it _hurt_."

The visitor blinked dumbly, trying to decide if it was such a good idea to concert with this guy. This man before him spoke with such hatred for the Titans that he didn't doubt his cruel intentions for a second. What exactly the Titans had done to anger him so much remained a mystery. But that didn't matter, right? Besides, what was wrong with making them suffer a little before they bit the dust? It would be in his best interests to have them gone, after all, and it would be awfully sweet to make them pay for all the times they had thrown him around.

"I'm in," the guest said foolishly. "Those kids have had it too good for too long." His host nodded enthusiastically. "But," he hesitantly added, "Still, they're, ya know… _kids_."

"Look, if you're gunna chicken out on me 'cause you're afraid to play dirty–"

"I'm not gunna chicken out," the second man growled. "But'cha haven't told me what you 'xpect me to do for you. I just don't want to do anythin' too…"

"Heinous?" the first man offered with a dark chuckle. "I assure you, we'll be as civil as they deserve," he assured his guest. That feral glint of hatred returned to his eye as he spoke further, "It'll take a couple weeks tops to do this, then we'll be done with the Titans forever. Just imagine the prestige; two criminals taking out a whole team of heroes."

"They're damn good fighters though," the visitor replied dubiously, "How're you even gunna catch a Titan in the first place?"

The first man grinned. "That, my friend, is where you come in."

TT

It had been nine hours since the attack when Raven finally awoke from incredibly sound sleep. Long after her brain slowly began to warm up and memories of the pain she had suffered came flooding back, Raven remained lying still, trying to piece together the mystery of what had happened.

Groaning to herself, Raven opened her eyes, immediately shutting them when sunlight overwhelmed them. She nestled deeper into the soft surface she was resting on, which she had decided was a warm bed. She squinted her eyes open again and blinked back sleep. The tired girl raised her head slightly, brushing disheveled, violet hair from her face. Raven felt weaker than usual, her muscles straining just a little more than normal to support her body as she held herself up on elbows.

When her eyes focused, Raven became aware that she was not in her bedroom on her bed like she had hoped (although that did explain the sunlight, since her drapes had been drawn at the time of the attack). Her brow furrowed anxiously. She was lying on her stomach on a mess of pale green sheets, her left side touching a cold, hard surface that she identified as a wall. Where was she? Was she even in the Tower anymore? She glanced to her right, past a sizable lump of sheets in the bed she occupied. The room surrounding her was smaller than her bedroom, with green painted walls and every surface and inch of floor space cluttered with only God knows what.

Raven's eyes widened and her insides sunk.

"Azar," she whispered hoarsely, and no doubt was left in her mind that the goddess despised her.

Green everywhere, untidy heaps of whatnot littering the floor; she had to be in Beast Boy's bedroom! Worse, she was in Beast Boy's bed. Suddenly the thought of waking up far outside the Tower seemed a whole lot more appealing. But if she was here, then where was…?

Her question was answered when the lump of sheets in the bed beside her shifted, groaning slightly and pushing the covers away from a face. It was, of course, Beast Boy. He had twisted his body so that he was lying on his back, still breathing deeply with sleep. Raven found herself staring dumbly down at her green teammate as she struggled to heave herself into a sitting position. Embarrassment flooded her, making her face flush intensely as she scrabbled away from the lightly snoring boy, all the while hurling silent epithets at Azar, the monks, the law, this curse, and every other potential cause of this latest wretched situation.

This was _really_ bad. Not only was she in Beast Boy's bed, but she was trapped between him and the wall. The fact that they were on his bottom bunk meant that there was less than half a foot of clearance over her head as she sat, shoulders hunched and frozen against the wall in horror. Climbing over the changeling without waking him would be nearly impossible, but it was either that or wait until he woke up and then try to explain why she was there, but by that time no amount of sputtering excuses would allow her to escape without utter humiliation.

Why was she here anyway? Raven vaguely remembered thinking that Beast Boy could somehow save her from that horrid pain she had been experiencing. The next thing she knew she hand landed in Beast Boy's bed. Had she teleported herself? That was the only logical explanation, Raven decided, but precisely _how_ she accomplished that without having access to her powers was a frustrating mystery.

Raven glanced down at Beast Boy and his tranquil expression told her that he was completely unaware of her presence.

Although she didn't want to recall the attack, a single sentence seemed to be etched into her memory, like a souvenir of what she had been through.

_A closed mind will be your demise_.

Those were the words that had struck her mind like a lightning bolt the night before. What was it supposed to mean anyway? It wasn't her own opinion, so had it been put there by someone else? And who the hell was able to do that anyway?

Raven huffed indignantly, but she stilled again when this noise caused the changeling to stir. Raven swallowed. She had to get out of there.

She looked down at Beast Boy, making sure he was still asleep. Then, so slowly that it was almost painful, Raven rose up on trembling arms and legs, preparing to slowly shift her weight to the opposite side of the slumbering changeling before she completely lost her resolve and spiraled downward into hysterics. His mattress creaked with her motion and she stopped altogether, holding her breath and praying that he had not been awakened. After a minute she decided that he had not, and she resumed inching her way over Beast Boy more slowly than before, carefully stretching the right side of her body across his and towards the edge of the bed. Her back brushed the bottom of the top bunk as she struggled to maintain balance, making her crouch down even further.

Just when Raven was hopeful that she could actually pull this off, something happened that made her shallow breath catch in her throat. While her body was almost completely over his and all her weight was held precariously by her left palm and knee, Beast Boy shifted to his right, catching her off guard and almost causing her trembling arm near the wall to give way. She quickly moved her left hand to keep it from becoming trapped beneath him, and as her right hand grasped for the top bunk's wooden frame, she couldn't keep the shaking fingers of her left hand from brushing his shoulder.

She stilled immediately, as did Beast Boy, and Raven waited in agony for a sign that he was still asleep. She carefully lifted her left arm, intent on quickly shifting it over his body and bolting for the door, but as she did so, Beast Boy's hand shot out from under the covers, reaching up and latching onto her forearm with a vise-like grip. Raven gasped in surprise, and it took quite a measure of self-control to not fall on him in her shock. Beast Boy opened his eyes quickly. His sleep-muddled mind was utterly confused, but it only took a split second for the changeling's brain to register that Raven was hovering over him. He immediately dropped his gaze and realized that he was holding onto her arm.

With a cry, Beast Boy released her and sat up in one fluid motion, trying to scoot away from Raven at the same time. He had already been very near the edge of his bed, so this action sent him tumbling with a mess of bed sheets to the floor. He landed hard on his rear, and Raven barely managed not to go careening off the edge along with him.

For a moment neither of them moved. Both Titans seemed completely frozen, eyes locked, Beast Boy sitting on the floor, tangled in sheets, while Raven was still kneeling on his bed. Her right hand was still clamped to the frame of the upper bunk.

The changeling, utterly stupefied at what the heck had just transpired, was furiously trying to get his mind over the shock of finding Raven here like this and to figure out why she was there. How did she get in his room? Why couldn't he remember what happened? Oh God…

"What the hell?" Beast Boy finally managed to eloquently croak through his astonishment.

Raven swallowed. She mentally stumbled over what to say, but her mortification clouded her rationality. She could feel her mind going completely blank. This was_ precisely_ what she had been trying to avoid by sneaking out.

Words escaping her, Raven retracted her appendages and sat down on the bed, finally recovering from her daze enough to at least note that she was not wearing her cloak over her leotard. She blushed yet again, which she tried to hide by looking down at her lap. Could this possibly get any worse? Raven seriously doubted that it could.

"Last night," Raven began as soon as she trusted herself to speak intelligibly, her voice still betraying her embarrassment, "I had another attack, like the other ones I've told you about. Only this one was… notably worse than the others. I… believe that I teleported myself here."

Beast Boy blinked, her explanation doing little to dispel his confusion.

"Why?" he asked at last, voice still hoarse with sleep. He cleared his throat by coughing into his hand. "Why did you teleport into my _bed_?"

Raven attempted to meet his gaze, giving up when her blushing only intensified.

"I remember thinking that since the attacks happen if I'm not obeying the curse, you would be the only way to prove that I'm following the law," she muttered, wringing her hands, "I didn't know I teleported here until I woke up next to you."

The changeling shook his head. "Whoa," he mumbled, finally making an effort to untangle himself from his sheets. He kicked them off and stood slowly, eyes not leaving the girl still sitting awkwardly on his lower bunk.

Looking vainly for something, _anything_ to do that would spare her from making eye contact with Beast Boy, Raven glanced at the forearm that he had previously latched onto. Red marks were left where his fingers had grabbed her tightly and she wondered if the area would bruise. Raven couldn't even remember the last time she had a bruise. Every wound she sustained during battle was healed almost immediately upon receiving it, so this tiny injury would be oddly significant. The reminder that she was not able to heal herself filled Raven with a strange sort of irritation, the fact of her own mortality manifesting itself in a subtle, but somehow uncomfortably obtrusive fashion. With self-pity now stacked on top of utter mortification, Raven deftly slipped behind her comfortingly familiar shield of sarcasm to try to remedy the awkward situation.

"Think you could have gripped my arm any tighter?" she asked dryly without making eye contact with the green boy. "It's still got circulation."

"Oh no, don't even try to turn yourself into the offended party," Beast Boy replied while attempting to adjust his skewed pajama pants. "We're not just going to forget who decided to show up in whose bed."

"We've already established why I 'decided to show up' in your bed," Raven answered evenly, "Besides, you're the one who shaved a good five years off my life with your little sneak attack method of figuring out who I was."

"Seriously, dude, what did you expect?" Beast Boy replied indignantly. "I wake up to find someone or some_thing_ moving and breathing right over me when I haven't even shared a room with anyone for, like, ten years. Obviously I was gunna freak out, so just be happy I realized it was you before I went all kung fu on your ass."

Raven scoffed. "I'd like to see you try."

"Hello? I'm just trying to make a point here."

"Point taken," Raven responded, "You're easily spooked and resort to grabbing at things that pose no threat to you."

"Exac– hey!" Beast Boy whined, crossing his arms and glaring at Raven. After losing a quick staring contest with the still embarrassed girl, Beast Boy turned his gaze to his sheets, most of which still lay in tangled heaps around his feet. The changeling looked back up at her. "Wanna help me make the bed?"

"Tempting, but no," Raven replied.

"Come on," Beast Boy insisted, "If you're going to sleep in my bed, you might as well help me make it too."

Raven resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust, shaking her head in a vain attempt to keep herself from blushing again.

"You might want to wash those before putting them back on your bed," she offered, glancing at the pile of pale-green sheets that he was picking up.

"Why?"

"They were on your floor," Raven replied, as if the meaning behind her words was obvious.

"So?"

"You're rather infamous for keeping a bedroom that's more filthy than the average dumpster," she replied wryly.

Beast Boy sniffed. "Fine, maybe it's a little bit cluttered, but it's not dirty. Maybe you've been too busy enjoying confined quarters with me to realize that it's not that bad in here. Go ahead, smell something or something."

Raven inhaled carefully and realized that Beast Boy wasn't lying. She was at a loss._ Everyone_ knew that Beast Boy's room stank to high heaven, so why the heck didn't it? Maybe this was just a terrible dream after all…

Beast Boy could tell from Raven's lack of a snappy comeback that she had become aware of her mistake. He smiled triumphantly.

"Maybe you've never taken the time to think about it before," he explained a bit condescendingly, "But the whole animal senses thing and strong smells don't mix all that well. So yeah, my room's messy, but it's not dirty, or I'd never be able to live in it."

"I never realized," Raven replied reluctantly, and she could almost feel her pride being kicked down a few notches.

"That's ok, Rae. There's a lot of stuff about me you don't realize," Beast Boy said with a shrug. "And if you're not gunna help me make my bed, can you at least get off of it for a minute so I can?"

Raven rose carefully to her feet, happy to step away from the bed that had so unmercifully inhibited her escape attempt earlier. Her new vantage point allowed her to catch a glimpse of Beast Boy's digital clock. It's face read 12:18 pm. Her eyes widened. Had she actually been asleep for almost nine hours? Well, considering what she had been through, perhaps nine hours of recuperation time wasn't all that much, but still, the day was practically half over and she had just gotten up! What if the others had gone looking for her in her bedroom and hadn't found her there? Would she have to suffer through explaining this embarrassing situation again? No, her dignity was already bruised, and it couldn't take much more of a beating before it shattered completely.

Speaking of bruised dignity, she might as well take this already painfully embarrassing opportunity to deal with the argument she had had with Beast Boy the day before. After all, it was that argument that had left her up half the night worrying that he would do something stupid in his anger. Apparently he hadn't, and even though he wasn't the kind of guy to keep a grudge (or so she thought), there was no point in leaving the argument as a source of awkwardness between them when there was already far too much to worry about. Besides, it wasn't likely that she would ever have a better opportunity to apologize, and quite frankly, what did she have left to lose?

"Beast Boy," Raven began, choosing her words carefully, "You know that I'm not trying to be unreasonable about all of this, right?"

Her green teammate did not look up from his efforts in making his bed.

"Whatever you say," he shrugged. Raven watched as Beast Boy finished fixing the sheets, haphazardly tucking them in so that his bed semi-resembled being made.

"When did you get back from patrol duty?" Raven asked half-heartedly.

"My shift was over by two a.m., and Robin ordered me back to the Tower. Something about not wanting me out all night when I'm not completely rational." Beast Boy shrugged again. "This new schedule is a killer. I mean, going from patrol duty two nights a week to half the night every night is intense."

"It will get better once I can patrol again," Raven replied.

"Yeah, it will," the changeling agreed. "Well, I dunno 'bout you, but I'm starving," he announced, his stomach growling almost on cue. "Wanna join me for breakfast?"

"Why not?" Raven sighed, taking his offer as a good sign that he didn't still resent her completely.

Beast Boy glanced at her. "You might want to stop by your room and throw on a cloak first though," he suggested. "Not that I mind just the leotard but it might distract me from carrying on a proper conversation with you."

Scowling fiercely and blushing yet again, Raven glared at Beast Boy, which only made him laugh at her flustered attitude.

"If it really makes you feel better you could take a towel or something for until you get to your bedroom," Beast Boy offered.

Raven accepted and Beast Boy found a slightly damp, light blue towel on top of a pile of clothes. Trying not to think about how disgusting it probably was, Raven draped the offered cloth over her shoulders and made for the door. When she got there she stopped for a moment and turned.

"Beast Boy?" she said, deciding to try her apology one more time.

"Hm?" he replied from behind her, in the middle of searching for a fresh uniform top.

"About everything I said yesterday about the vows –"

"Don't worry about it," Beast Boy cut in. "I felt bad about what I said too."

"There's no reason for you to feel bad," Raven replied, careful to keep her voice level "I think you're starting to see this all rationally."

Beast Boy made a face. "You think so?"

"Yes. Just try to consider the long term, alright?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I already am."

TT

After a long shower Raven made her way down to the kitchen to make a quick cup of her favorite tea to go with a bagel for lunch. While carefully preparing her beverage, she discovered a note that Cyborg had scrawled and left on the kitchen table earlier that morning. It informed the rest of the team that he had gone to visit the Titans East for the day to work on their security system, which had been destroyed during a battle the day before. Starfire happened by the kitchen while Raven was busy stirring sugar into her hot drink, and eagerly recounted the lunch outing with Robin that she had just returned from. After tossing a couple of catalogs at Raven and making her promise to look through them soon, Starfire quickly skipped off, explaining that Robin had invited her to watch _The Little Mermaid_ on the ancient VHS player in his room, that she might learn more about a "traditional" earth wedding.

Raven ate her little meal in silence and might have enjoyed the solitude if her mind hadn't been bogged down by questions and those familiar, pesky feelings of anxiousness and embarrassment. The mystery of her last attack and rescue still niggled in her mind (it really was a miracle that Beast Boy had been in the Tower at the time of the attack, and she didn't want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't been). She was fairly certain that Beast Boy would have the decency not to tell anyone what had happened that morning, but he was liable to "accidentally" let something slip if he got angry with her again. She would never hear the end of the ridicule from her team if that happened, and no amount of explaining would be able to mend her pride.

Searching for some sort of distraction, Raven had ended up in the common room with the magazines Starfire had given to her, noting with disgust that the magazines were all about floral arrangements. Beast Boy entered the room a while after she had settled in at the table with her catalogs. He waved at her in greeting and made his way over to the huge couch, where he flopped down and comfortably stretched out.

When she thought about it, Raven failed to see how her current task fit into the agreement that she would only be consulted on important wedding matters. Normally she would have come up with a half-dozen solid arguments with which to get herself out of a job like this, but quick excuses had escaped her while talking with Starfire in the kitchen, and now she was paying for that dearly.

Time passed slowly and the dark girl scowled at the catalog on the table in front of her, struggling to focus. She had been sitting at the table for almost thirty minutes without getting anything accomplished. She felt thoroughly exasperated by her second time through the magazines without finding anything remotely appealing.

Alas, not for lack of trying (but perhaps for lack of interest), and despite the incredible amount of selection in her catalogs, she selected nothing. Everything was too fancy, too bright, and too expensive. It irritated her to no end that a piddling task like this was taking her so long, even if it could easily be justified by the facts that she was too preoccupied to concentrate and that she didn't care a bit about flowers.

Raven glanced across the room. She could see Beast Boy's messy green hair sticking out past the edge of the couch on which he was sprawled. She wasn't sure if he was asleep, but he hadn't spoken a word or moved in a while.

A moment later, however, out of her peripheral vision, Raven saw Beast Boy's dark green hair move as he shifted his position on the couch.

"Hey Rae?" he called.

Ah well, apparently he wasn't sleeping.

"What?" she replied, flipping a page.

"What do you think our kids would look like?" Beast Boy asked, completely out of the blue.

Raven blinked, caught off guard, and looked up towards the couch.

"Come again?" she requested.

Beast Boy sat up, casually throwing his arms over the back of the couch so he could look at her. "I was just wondering," he said, shrugging his shoulders indifferently. "Humor me?"

Raven stared at him indignantly, trying to decide if she should snap at him for wasting her time with such a ridiculous question.

"I've never thought about it," she reluctantly admitted at last, "Why?"

"I bet they'd have some pretty awesome powers," Beast Boy grinned. "Between my shape shifting and your telekinesis and stuff."

Raven nodded slightly, unsure of why she was bothering to carry on the absurd conversation.

"That is probably part of why you were chosen for me," she agreed hesitantly. "More abilities mean more power. It makes sense that marriages would be set up in a way that would maximize potential power for the offspring."

Beast Boy smiled broadly. "So, since I got chosen, that means I'm more powerful than Rob and Cy, right?"

"And so much more humble too," Raven replied.

Beast Boy wrinkled his nose. He appeared thoughtful for a moment.

"Ya know what? I don't think Cy can even have children," he stated matter-of-factly.

"That's something I do not want to think about," Raven said.

Beast Boy chuckled. "So, back to my original question, what do you think our kids would look like?"

Raven sighed, flipping shut her catalog. "Probably like the two of us combined."

"Well duh," Beast Boy said, rolling his eyes, "But do you think they would have green skin?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Raven asked.

Beast Boy suddenly looked amused. "Hey, what if the kid got my green skin and your purple eyes and hair?"

"Then we'd have to name the thing Barney," she replied with a wry grin.

Beast Boy scoffed. "No way," he insisted, "I am not naming my child after a fat dinosaur."

"It really is a moot point, though," Raven said, "Seeing as there will be no children to name."

"That's a shame," Beast Boy sighed, "I'm sure we could have some pretty cute kids."

Raven felt a blush rising to her face for the umpteenth time that day. "If you value your life, I'd stop right there," she warned the changeling.

"I've never though about baby names either," he declared, apparently ignoring her threat. "Gosh, there's a lot of stuff I've never even considered before."

"Which is perfectly normal, because seventeen year-old boys shouldn't need to be worried about baby names."

Beast Boy scowled at her. "Seventeen year-old _men_, Raven," he insisted.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered. She was silent for a moment. "What the heck. Let's just name the kid after my dad," she said dryly.

"No way!" Beast Boy said adamantly, obviously missing her sarcasm. "I'd pick a purple dinosaur over a creepy demon guy any day."

"I was kidding, Beast Boy."

"Of course you were."

Raven shrugged. "Why don't you help me with a more relevant decision," she offered.

"What's that?"

Raven motioned for him to come see the magazine she had on the table in front of her. He slowly got up and made his way over, immediately frowning and walking back for the couch when he saw what catalog it was.

"No way, Rae," he insisted. "That's girl stuff."

"It's _our_ wedding," she reminded him.

"But Starfire asked_ you_ to pick out all that pointless junk."

"But we must practice being a team for when we unite our souls in matrimony and become as one," Raven sardonically replied.

Beast Boy shivered. "That sounds creepy," he remarked.

"And it is," Raven nodded in agreement.

The changeling sighed sadly. "Commitment scares me," he lamented, falling down against the couch dramatically and leaning his arms over the back again to stare at Raven with a pitiful expression.

Raven couldn't help but smirk. "This is why teenagers shouldn't marry." She sighed. "Well, we'll still be teenagers when we end this."

Beast Boy's face clouded over. "Would you stop bringing that up?" he demanded.

"You know the only other alternative," Raven reminded him.

"And would the alternative really be that bad?" he pressed.

Raven looked at him. Hadn't they been over this enough? "Beast Boy, we don't love each other. We can't be expected to spend our entire lives together."

"Well, what about all the other people on your planet? They stayed married, didn't they? You know what they say about arranged marriages; you can learn to love anyone."

"Let's be realistic, Beast Boy," Raven insisted. "Neither of us will want to stay together longer than we need to. And what happened to your decision about cutting out love and cherish from your vow?"

"I already told you I was sorry about that."

"You didn't say you were changing it back, though."

"That's because you'd have my head if I swore something like that to you."

"So you're leaving it out if I don't tell you to do otherwise?"

"I'm leaving it out because _I_ decided to. I know you've got your opinions about it and unlike you, I'm taking both of our interests into account."

Before Raven could reply, the door to the room hissed open and Robin walked in, carrying a steaming bag of microwave popcorn. He stopped at the entrance to the room upon seeing the two alone. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"Nope, we were just discussing baby names," Beast Boy replied cheerfully, apparently pausing their serious discussion.

Robin cast an odd glance at Raven. "Baby names?" he said skeptically.

"He's just taunting you, Robin," she insisted.

"Right. Well, Starfire wanted me to ask if you've picked out the floral arrangements yet," Robin said.

"I'm working on it," Raven said with a sigh.

"Fine," Robin replied, "But Star says she wants to have them ordered today."

Raven frowned. "Maybe I should go talk to her."

"Be my guest," Robin replied.

"Why not just choose something simple and get it over with?" Beast Boy asked. The other two Titans in the room turned to look at him. "Seriously, it's not a big deal."

Raven shot him a look. "Then what do you suggest?"

The changeling shrugged. "I dunno, roses would work," he offered, naming the first variety of flower that popped into his head.

"Only roses?" Raven asked dubiously.

"Sure. You're the one who wants the wedding to be as little as possible," Beast Boy reasoned.

"Fine," Raven agreed. It certainly would be simpler to only order one type of flower. In fact, why hadn't she thought of that? "Roses it is. Robin, tell Starfire she can pick out whatever arrangements she wants. No pink."

Robin shrugged. "Alright, I'll tell her," he promised, making his way out of the room. The door slid shut behind him.

"There," Beast Boy said with satisfaction, "We compromised."

Raven grinned slightly. "I guess we did."

"Wasn't that easy?"

"Sure, when nothing but flowers is at stake."

"Baby steps, Rae. We're making progress here." The changeling crossed the room and took a seat at the table next to Raven, resting his arms on the counter top.

"Was there something else you wanted?" Raven asked upon glancing up and seeing that Beast Boy was staring at her.

Beast Boy looked thoughtful. "Actually, yes," he began slowly, a pink hue tingeing his cheeks. "I've been doing some thinking about these random attack things you're having. By the way you describe 'em they're getting worse."

"Which I was told would happen as my birthday draws nearer."

"So what're you gunna do?" Beast Boy inquired.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "What am I going to do?"

"I know, obviously the whole marriage thing," he conceded, "But what about short term?"

The dark girl looked at him expressionlessly. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

Beast Boy swallowed. "So the only reason you got over this last attack was 'cause I was there," he continued, "What if you have another when I'm not around?"

Raven met his worried gaze evenly. "You can waste your whole life on 'what ifs', Beast Boy," she reasoned.

"I just can't stand the thought of you… dying or something just because I'm not around." Beast Boy said seriously, and his concern made Raven feel awkward.

"What do you propose then?" Raven asked.

Beast Boy looked uncomfortable. "Well, you know I have a bunk bed and all…" Raven just stared at him as his voice trailed off. "I was thinking that you could, ya know, sleep in my room until the curse is gone," the changeling said quickly and abruptly tensed, as if expecting a tirade from the dark girl for his offer. Instead he was met only by a stunned silence, and he eventually took his chances and met her gaze. "Well?" he prompted her uneasily.

Raven blinked at him dumbly, holding back the resounding "no" that begged to be uttered. Her pride was in shambles as it was, and while not wanting to risk her own death, she would almost prefer taking that chance than risk the further mortification of taking up Beast Boy on his offer. Even so, it would be awfully childish to place her pride over her life. She had barely made it past her last birthday, and she'd be damned if she had gone through so much just to die from one of these attacks.

"I wish I could say no," Raven replied grimly, the sincerity in her voice not lost on the changeling. "However, I am worried that if I experience another attack, I would not be as lucky as I was with the last one," Raven admitted. Her unreadable stare remained focused on the changeling's face. "I don't have much of a choice."

Beast Boy's face lit up, his worried mood disappearing as rapidly as it had come.

"Sweet, now we're roomies!" he exclaimed, punching a fist in the air.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept the proclaiming of that fact to a minimum," the empath said quickly, glaring at her giddy fiancée.

Beast Boy shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "Fine, fine, I get it. You don't want the others to think that you're sleeping with the green kid, I understand."

"That's not what I said."

"Ah, but it's what you were clearly implying," Beast Boy stated. "Whatever. I'll get my extra sheets."

With that, Beast Boy leaped up and exited the room. Raven, alone at the table once more, shut her eyes. Her head sunk down slowly into her palms as she groaned. Azar, what had she done?

--

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed chapter seven, and everyone who guessed at where Raven was after the last chapter. The answer was, of course, with Beast Boy in his bedroom/bed. There were ten readers who guessed correctly, so congratulations to you all! There were also a couple of people who came pretty close to getting it right, but I was a bit picky with selecting winners. The usernames of the correct guessers are listed below in alphabetical order.

demongurl111, _God's Child aka kgnascimento_, JeMS7, _NightWarrior_, Orider,_purplerave_, RaeBoy, _The Flying Frog_, TheSilentShotgun, _titanfan45_

As for this chapter, as always, I'm happy to receive constructive criticism, ideas, and the like. Tell me what you think, what you want to see next, and whatever else you feel like sending my way.

Thank you for reading.


	9. The Warehouse District

**A.N. **My thanks go out to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and urged me to come out with this chapter quickly. Sorry it took as long as it did, but… ah, you know the usual excuses. Please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter nine of Like It Or Not, entitled "The Warehouse District"

_Friday, May 25; one day remaining_

The day was young. In fact, midnight had just slipped by. Raven and Beast Boy knew that well; they were both staring at the digital clock near the male Titan's bed, watching the minutes slowly creep by in awkward tension.

Beast Boy's bedroom was perfectly silent. Raven and Beast Boy were wide-awake in their respective bunks and were feeling quite uncomfortable at having another person in the room while they tried to sleep.

Raven looked up at the ceiling which was, since she was occupying the top bunk, only a few feet from her face, making her feel quite claustrophobic indeed. But she really didn't mind. If Beast Boy hadn't had a bunk bed, who knew what their sleeping arrangements might be?

Beast Boy was having just as much trouble falling asleep. Aside from the current troubling wedding issues and intense patrol duties that had been keeping him up at night, his acute senses were currently picking up the foreign sounds of Raven's every breath and movement, and her scent was enough to keep his mind from relaxing in his own familiar bedroom. His instincts told him that something wasn't quite right, and even though the rational side of him knew that everything was well, Beast Boy knew that sleep would not be coming easy until he got used to Raven being there, and who knew how long that would take? Still, he didn't regret inviting her. The way she explained the last attack and how being around him had basically kept her from dying, he wouldn't be able to sleep _without_ Raven in the room, just knowing that she might fall under another attack even as he slept.

He could tell by her breathing that she wasn't asleep. Obviously she would be even more uneasy than him right now, just because she was, well, Raven. She was in a strange room with a strange boy whom she didn't like very much, on top of all the wedding pandemonium that was constantly on their minds. Yeah, she might not be falling asleep any time soon either.

Beast Boy turned towards the wall, punched his pillow a bit to fluff it, and fell against it again with a sigh.

'_Go to sleep, Beast Boy_,' he commanded himself, trying to slow his breathing enough to relax. He squeezed his eyes shut, and a few minutes later he finally began to feel himself nodding off. Raven stirred slightly from above him and his eyes shot open again. '_Darn it!_'

The minutes seemed to trickle by slowly in a thick silence. Beast Boy had just about given up sleeping and was staring wide-eyed at the bottom of the top bunk, trying to convince his animalistic side that there was absolutely nothing wrong, when his alarm clock began to blare.

Raven gasped and sat up, and the sound of her head cracking against the ceiling reverberated throughout the room.

Beast Boy fumbled for his alarm clock, shutting off the loud beeping quickly. He deftly rolled out of bed and onto his feet. The green teen stretched his arms over his head and groaned quietly, glancing up at the top bunk, where a scowling Raven sat staring at him.

"Ow," she said, palm rubbing at her throbbing forehead.

Beast Boy chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologized, "I should've warned you that was coming. It practically takes a fog horn to get me up in the middle of the night."

Raven squinted at his bedside clock. It was just after two A.M., and apparently time for the changeling's patrol shift. She half-watched as Beast Boy fixed his hair and clothing in the copious moonlight that streamed through the window.

"Well," Beast Boy sighed, "Off to patrol. Maybe I'll be back by seven or eight. Try to get some sleep while I'm gone, alright?"

Raven just groaned and lay down again as Beast Boy departed. Surprisingly, after only a few minutes of his absence, Raven slipped into a light slumber.

TT

It was just after seven in the morning, but the bright sunlight and cloudless sky promised that it would be an exquisite day. Starfire couldn't help but hum to herself as she floated through the halls, a cup of coffee in one hand and a wedding planning checklist in the other. The coffee was for poor Robin, who had been up since the middle of the night on patrol. If she hurried, she might just be able to catch him in the evidence room brooding over a stack of files before he plodded down to the training room for his morning workout.

Starfire mentally checked off what had to be done that day for the wedding as she traveled through the halls. The week had simply flown by! She couldn't believe that the very next day her two good friends were to be wed. She was fit to burst from jubilance at their good fortune. To never again suffer lonesomeness and to have the constant companionship and support of another was a blessing that Starfire herself could only hope to one day enjoy, and yet her own teammates would so soon be partaking in the delight of such a union. To plan their wedding was a supreme honor, and Starfire was proud of how well the details for the occasion were coming together.

Starfire heard a door slide open a little ways ahead of where she was passing through the hallway. It was Beast Boy's room. What perfect timing! She had to ask him about his preference on decorations for the reception.

"Good morning, friend Beast Boy!" she began joyfully, "I was wondering– Oh! Raven, forgive me, I did not know I would find you here."

Indeed, Raven had just emerged from Beast Boy's room, and by the time she noticed Starfire approaching, it was too late to retreat unseen.

Raven froze. "Starfire," she said, making a supreme effort to keep her voice plain, "I was just, ah, you see…"

Starfire peered at her friend innocently. "Did you come to find Beast Boy?" she inquired. "I had hoped to speak with him as well, but he seems to still be on patrol."

"Er, yes, so I see," Raven replied casually. "Well, I'll be going now."

"Alright, friend Raven!" Starfire responded warmly, continuing down the hall as the dark girl quickly walked in the opposite direction. "Oh! Raven?"

The empath reluctantly stopped in her tracks and turned back to her teammate.

"Starfire?"

The alien smiled brightly. "I have read copiously on the subject and talked at great length to the very kind employees in the wedding shops, and I have learned that partaking in a party of bachelorettes is common on the eve of one's wedding day. I even received several very bizarre suggestions as to where such a party could occur."

Raven's expression grew dubious. "A bachelorette party?" she smirked. "No thanks."

Starfire's grin fell a bit. "I was prepared to receive such a response, I am afraid." Her smile perked up again. "So I resolved to request that we simply partake in the 'hanging out' this evening instead. Oh, Raven," she gushed, "It will be wonderful! We can share our hopes and dreams and rejoice in the joyful occasion that is soon to take place, and I shall even do the shopping for the junk food that people on earth find so delightful. This sounds enjoyable, yes?"

Raven stared at Starfire blankly. She sighed. "Star, I…" she began. She caught Starfire's pleading look. Raven huffed. "If I must," she acquiesced as she turned to leave again, wanting more than anything to just escape to her room and try to forget her sorry predicament over a novel and some meditation.

TT

Beast Boy glanced at the chipped coffee cup on the table in front of him. He eyed the tepid beverage blankly, staring at it without really seeing it. His elbows propped on the tabletop, Beast Boy sat all by his lonesome, letting his mind drift where it would.

The changeling felt like a wreck. He was dead tired. His head hurt from thinking so much. The sense of trepidation that throbbed through his skull was enough to drive him mad.

He looked around the quaint coffee shop for a clock. He really had to start wearing a watch. True, he could go through the trouble of taking his communicator from his pocket to check the time, but he didn't feel like budging.

From the sun's location in the sky, Beast Boy guessed it was around three in the afternoon. He had finished his patrol shift early that morning, but Robin had graciously allowed him the day off. Robin could be a real jerk of a guy, but Beast Boy was glad that his leader had the kindness to at least allow him a day of escape just before he was to be married.

Married. God, he was getting married. He could repeat that a million times and probably go through the ceremony without what was actually happening sinking in. Less than a week ago he had been just fine, minding his own business and plodding along in his complacent life. And now _this_.

Beast Boy hadn't been off duty for more than five minutes and had just been wandering vacantly through the streets, wondering how he should spend his last semi-normal day, when a couple of typical teen, female fans had accosted him. They did the whole "Oh my God, you're Beast Boy!" nonsense for a while, insisted on buying him breakfast, and spent a solid half hour begging for autographs and pictures and carrying on in what he believed was a very unbecoming flirtatious manner. And he let them. He even essayed a smile and a corny quip or two, much to their squealing delight. It was a waste of time, but hey. Tomorrow he would be forced to swear off all possible romance, girlfriends, and God knows what else, until Raven cut off their pathetic excuse for marriage as soon as possible.

What a life he had condemned himself to. In hindsight, his quick decision seemed kind of stupid. He had agreed to forfeit all hopes of contentment and for what? A girl who would sooner kill than kiss him. It was all very sad, really, what was to become of him.

He hated being depressed like this. He really, really did. He was ashamed to admit that he wished he hadn't agreed to go through with the marriage so quickly. What in hell had he been thinking? Had he thought it over at all? Well, he was definitely paying the price for a hasty decision now. And he would be paying for years to come.

But whenever his gloomy thoughts strayed too far down that path, he would snap right back to the reality: Raven would die if he didn't marry her. He had to do this. He knew that, honestly. But she was supposedly a smart girl, so why couldn't she just see what he was giving up for her? He wasn't asking for much, but for God's sake, marriage was supposed to bring happiness, darn it! She was basically condemning him to two years of miserable, lonely, abstinence. She was letting his young life become wretched, and all the while she couldn't see past her own damn issues, which for all he could tell, only consisted of mopey, self-induced cynicism and absolute determination to never let another person see her as anything but utterly cheerless and despondent.

If only there was a way around this wedding, they would both be much happier. That is, unless Raven had a change of heart. If she could face this in a mature way then all his problems would just melt away. But seriously, he had more faith in the Tooth Fairy than in the possibility of Raven reconsidering her deep-seated distrust of all things that breathed.

If only someone understood what he was going through. He seriously doubted that he could spell out his muddled anxiety and suffering coherently enough for even the best shrink to grasp what was running through his head every hour of every day since he had (naively, so painfully naively) agreed to marry Raven. He really didn't have anything to lose but his dignity by bearing all, and perhaps it would be better to sacrifice that before he did something really stupid in his frustration.

The tough part was deciding to whom he could go for help. He didn't trust many people to listen to what he had to say and not spread it around or use it against him. Basically he was restricted to his teammates on the issue of trust. It would have to be Cyborg. He was the obvious choice out of the four other Titans on his team. Now Beast Boy had never been the type to share his feelings with other guys (what male is?), but he was fairly certain that Cyborg wouldn't betray his confidence. Beast Boy had reached the summit of despair, and he was willing to try something as radical as spilling his emotional guts to escape these rotten feelings that were beating him up from inside his head.

Beast Boy fished out a few dollars from his pocket and left them on the counter with his cup of cold coffee, flashing a perfect copy of his dopey, carefree smile at the few tables of civilians who had been not so casually staring at him as he brooded. He dashed through the door and took flight in the form of a falcon, sight set on Titans Tower.

TT

Raven moaned from her bed and burrowed deep under the covers. The curtains were drawn and her room was as dark as it could be, but the darkness gave her no reprieve.

"Azar, let me die," she groaned in anger, gingerly turning to her other side. She had been afflicted with a headache since the day before, which had only been exacerbated by whacking her cranium on the ceiling of Beast Boy's bedroom that morning. She felt terribly feverish too, but simultaneously so cold that she yearned for a hot, steamy shower. And yet she couldn't bring herself to stand; her body throbbed like she had run a marathon or two the day before, so that even breathing made her chest ache.

So this was what it was like to die. Raven knew that this was no illness, but the curse warning her that she had come dangerously close to the deadline for the fulfillment of the marriage. Why in hell she had let Robin talk her into waiting until the day before her birthday was a mystery to her, but she had, and now she was paying the price.

Beast Boy, to her knowledge, hadn't returned from patrol yet. Either her current state made the seconds tick by like hours, or his shift had been over for quite some time. She was vaguely worried about not knowing where he was, just incase this dreadful achiness and pain turned into something even worse, but her communicator was on her nightstand. He was just a call away. And yet Raven wasn't entirely certain that she could find the energy to move across her bed to take up the device.

Raven groaned again. If she hadn't been so badly frazzled when Starfire met her in the hall, she never would have agreed to spend time hanging out that evening. She just wanted to be left alone, that the gods might have a mite of compassion on her and allow her to fall asleep again. It would be best that way, and maybe she could forget all her troubles, at least for a few listless hours.

TT

"I just don't understand her, ya know?" Beast Boy was sitting on top of a tool chest in the massive underground garage, watching Cyborg install some new part or something under the hood of the T-Car. "She's always yelling at me for being immature, but she's the one who won't give me a chance! She just completely ignores all of my opinions 'bout the marriage."

Cyborg stopped for a second to grab a tool from the floor. He paused a moment to glance at his friend, who refused to make eye contact and was staring intently at the wall behind him.

"Well, what did you expect?" Cyborg asked patiently.

Beast Boy stopped to think before he answered.

"I thought I'd have a little more weight in a relationship like this. Even with her. I am the guy, after all."

"Yeah, well, as long as you're a pushover Rae'll wear the pants in your relationship."

"Pushover?" Beast Boy said, finally deigning to look at his teammate in irritation. "I am _not_ a pushover."

Cyborg chuckled. "Around most people, you might not be," he agreed with a shrug, "But you're a sucker 'round Rae."

"So what're you saying is that I should be more pushy?" Beast Boy demanded.

Cyborg held up his hands. "Whoa, no, for the sake of your own health, I wouldn't advise trying to push Rae around."

Cyborg grabbed a few colored wires from a broad table by his side and disappeared behind the hood again.

Beast Boy scowled. "How am I supposed to know what to do?"

"Well how would I know any more than you?" Cyborg asked, voice echoing from within the car.

"Well, you've had a girlfriend before, right?"

Cyborg surfaced again and got a reminiscent look in his dark eye.

"That was a long time ago, B. And that was high school. What you've got going with Rae is a little different, don't ya think?"

"Kinda. But you know Raven. She loves to be in charge. I couldn't force her to do a thing."

"I don't want to butt into your business, and I'm not saying you have to force anything. You have to be more assertive if you want anything to change, that's all."

"I've tried that," Beast Boy replied miserably, "It just leads to us arguing and things just get even more awkward."

"Better awkward now than terrible for your whole marriage," Cyborg pointed out wisely. "However long it may last."

"Trying to work out stuff with Rae is impossible though!" the changeling complained. "One minute we'll just be talking and the next she's calling me impulsive and throwing down ultimatums."

"And so you're just going to wallow in self-pity and accept the fact that she'll run your relationship forever?"

"Dude, no! I just… don't understand her. How am I supposed to know what to do when she throws me out of the Tower just for telling jokes?"

"Well I hope you figure that out somehow."

"How?" Beast Boy pleaded.

"Beats me," Cyborg admitted, shrugging as he fiddled with a screwdriver absently. "All you can do is talk to her."

"That's all I'll ever be able to do to her."

Cyborg rolled his eye at his miserable friend.

"I've got faith in you, BB. You'll win her over."

"Not the way it's going now I won't."

"Then change it."

"I can't!"

"Well pick a side, Beast Boy! Are you just going to go along with whatever Rae wants or are you gunna take a stand on things?"

Beast Boy slapped a hand over his eyes and fell back over the large tool chest, disappearing from sight and hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"I can't just go along with her all the time," he said after a minute, apparently thinking things over from the cold concrete floor of the garage.

"There ya go," Cyborg said approvingly. "That's a start."

Beast Boy groaned. "But I already knew that!" he exclaimed. "I still have to figure out how to make her listen to me."

Cyborg grinned. "Well you've got your work cut out for you. I don't think that Raven listens to anyone."

The changeling picked himself up from the floor and set himself back on the tool chest.

"Maybe I should just give up trying to turn the marriage into more than she wants," he sighed. "Save myself the humiliation."

"It all comes down to how much you want her," Cyborg pointed out. "Is she worth chasing? Is the payoff worth the fight?" Cyborg retracted his finger turned soldering iron from the T-Car engine, took a last glance, and shut the hood carefully. He turned around and leaned against the car, crossing his arms over his chest and looking squarely at the changeling. "Not that I think you haven't considered it before, but I hear that with this whole marriage deal, if you play your cards right, you just might get lucky," He winked suggestively.

Beast Boy smirked humorlessly but blushed despite himself. "Don't talk like that," he insisted. "I'm not even sure how I feel about her, or even if I would want to, uh, you know." He blushed even more furiously and refused to meet Cyborg's gaze again.

Cyborg's booming laughter reverberated through the garage. "Beast Boy, there isn't a red-blooded, seventeen-year-old male alive who can honestly say that he would pass up an opportunity like yours."

"Dude! Don't you get it? This is still _Raven_ we're talking about here, not some normal girl. It's not about us wanting to be together or anything! We're getting married to save her life, and that's all there is to it. Regardless of what I want – and I'm not admitting that I want anything – Raven would never agree to do anything requiring physical contact with another human being."

"And how are you so sure about that?"

"Believe me, Cy, Raven's made it perfectly clear," Beast Boy insisted.

"But have you asked her?"

"Hello? Do you think I have a death wish, or do you actually believe I'm dumb enough to have missed every hostile sign she's sent my way?" the green teen demanded.

Cyborg's grin grew. "I do believe that Raven's charm has been rubbing off on you."

"Dude! No part of Raven has been rubbing off on me!"

"Friends?"

Cyborg glanced toward the door and Beast Boy almost fell off the tool chest again. Starfire was at the door, peeping into the garage and wearing a pensive expression.

"Star!" Beast Boy exclaimed, jumping up, "How long have you been there?"

"I only just arrived. Robin requested that I ask if you two wished to join him for dinner in the city. I would join you myself, but Raven and I have already made plans for an evening of the hanging out."

"I haven't eaten in a few hours," Cyborg shrugged, "Why not?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I'll stay here and try to get some slee–"

"He'll come too," Cyborg cut in. "Tell Rob we'll be up in a minute."

"I shall relay your message promptly." With that, Starfire drifted off, and the two male Titans were left alone again in the silent garage.

"You're not spending the night before your wedding moping in your room, little man," Cyborg insisted. "We done here? Or do I have to waste more time trying to convince you that you're dumb to give up on Rae before you're even hitched?"

"It's not giving up, it's accepting reality."

"No, it's giving up. Now come on, the pizza joint closes at seven today."

TT

"Friend Raven, I fear that you are not enjoying our time of hanging out," Starfire noted.

Indeed, Raven was lying on her back, staring up blankly at the ceiling of the common room as Starfire poured honey mustard on their Chinese takeout. With a supreme effort, the empath tilted her head to look at Starfire.

"I'm sorry, Star," she said. "I'm just not feeling well."

Starfire nodded in understanding. "It is the curse, yes?"

Raven nodded. "I was a fool to wait until the day before my birthday to marry."

"You are not a fool, Raven. This marriage came upon you very suddenly, and I feel that you are… mostly behaving admirably, despite what you perceive to be a very unfortunate circumstance."

The dark girl smiled. "Thanks Starfire." She hefted herself into a sitting position, careful not to ruin the clear nail polish that she had allowed Starfire to apply.

Starfire grinned wistfully. "Friend Raven, you remember what my wedding on Tamaran was to be like?"

"Who can forget?"

"If you recall, I was also to marry one whom I did not choose for myself."

"And you were lucky enough to escape it."

Starfire sighed. "I was so fortunate, yes. I wish to comfort you, Raven, for although you do not wish to marry Beast Boy, please remember that your situation could be far worse."

"It could be worse," Raven agreed lightly.

"You are my best female friend, Raven," Starfire said ardently, "And I want nothing but happiness for you on your wedding day, and every day after that. But I fear that neither you nor Beast Boy are the slightest bit happy about your union."

"Happy? No, I was never meant to be happy. And I can hardly expect Beast Boy to be happy with someone like me."

"I am afraid that I do not understand, then. Although reclusive, you are a wonderful person who a worthy male would find quite pleasing."

Raven scoffed. "I could never please Beast Boy, nor do I wish to try."

"But why not?"

Raven silently regarded the earnest, green-eyed Tamaranean girl for a few moments.

"I am not going to change who I am to make a petulant, seventeen-year-old boy happy. He knew what he was agreeing to when he said he would marry me. I wish to think of it less as marriage and more as a temporary condition anyway."

"You do not need to change who you are in order to please Beast Boy." Starfire said wisely. "He would not like that. But I do think that he would appreciate your effort to get along."

"I'm more than willing if he feels like acting rationally."

"I am quite certain that he does not believe that."

"Why would you think that?"

"It does not matter why, but I am sure that Beast Boy would also say that he is willing to try to get along if _you_ began acting rationally."

Raven laughed mirthlessly. "Starfire, the day that Beast Boy has to ask me to be rational is the day that hell will freeze over."

"Forgive me Raven, but I cannot agree. Because I have come from an arranged marriage as well, I can understand what you are feeling, but because Beast Boy is my good friend, I can also sympathize with what he is going through. This marriage will be as difficult for him as it will be for you, because of all that he is sacrificing for a seemingly unrewarding union."

The empath looked at Starfire carefully. "That's ridiculous," she said quietly. "This isn't going to be painful for him."

"Do you not understand what he is giving up for you, then?"

"Nothing he would get even if we didn't marry," Raven smirked. "Nothing will change between Beast Boy and me after the wedding. We will be able to forget all about it for two years and then it will be over, and he can go right back to accosting every female he comes into contact with."

Starfire leaned back gently against the couch. "Oh, Raven," she sighed sadly, "Will you not be swayed from that opinion?"

"I do not see why I should allow myself to be swayed," Raven replied. "If he felt the way you say he does, he would have told me."

The Tamaranean smiled quietly. "Do you also not know how forbidding you often appear?"

"That has never stopped Beast Boy from annoying me before."

"But perhaps it would stop him from making himself vulnerable before you, and from asking for what he has never dared ask before."

"Starfire, you're being unusually candid this evening."

"Maybe the time for tact is running out."

Raven examined her nails carefully, and finding that they were sufficiently dry, crossed her arms over her chest and drew up her knees. She allowed herself to stare off into space for a few moments.

"You must agree that it would be best for the both of us and for the team to not become… involved," she said slowly.

"I can think of nothing more involving than a marriage, nor do I think that you should make it seem so meaningless."

"But for our safety, for our duty to the team–"

"No," Starfire cut in. "Those are merely excuses, friend Raven."

"How could you know that?"

"Simply because I am not blinded by the same things that you are." Starfire glanced at her friend. "Oh, I have offended you," she exclaimed sadly. "Forgive me, Raven. That was not my intention."

"Don't worry about it," Raven replied calmly. "I appreciate your effort to make my marriage work out, but it's just a hopeless cause." Starfire opened her mouth to refute the comment, but Raven continued on. "I'm not expecting to be made happy by this marriage, and I do not believe that Beast Boy is either. I can only hope that it is tolerable. It's getting late. The boys will be home soon, and your patrol starts in less than a half hour." Raven stood carefully and struggled to keep her balance.

Starfire rose to her feet as well. "Will you at least contemplate what I have said?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself."

The alien grinned. "Good night, friend Raven. May your rest be contenting and may you awaken tomorrow in good spirits for your wedding day."

"Good night, Starfire." With that, Raven retreated to her bedroom, unable to keep her tumult of emotions from stirring inside her as she walked. How could she possibly face Beast Boy and sleep in his bedroom now? Besides needing time to think seriously about what Starfire had said, she would be a complete wreck after another long night of being unable to fall asleep while Beast Boy was in the same room. Maybe she would take her chances and spend the night in her own bedroom. Honestly, with the way that her life was heading, Raven was beginning to wonder if it would _really_ be all that bad if she just died alone in her bed from one of those awful attacks.

TT

Robin glanced out the window of the operations room with a sigh. It was only a little after ten at night, and with four hours before his patrol began, he had quite a bit of time to kill. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep before he went on duty, and by the time his shift ended, it would be well after sunrise. And then he was officiating a wedding in his own Tower. Good God, this was messed up.

Cyborg was waiting out the time until his patrol shift in the operations room as well, typing away in some sort of coding at one of the many computer consoles in the room. For a long time the only sounds were Cyborg's rapid typing and the scratch of Robin's pen over a stack of agonizing paperwork.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Beast Boy acting so miserable," Robin finally sighed, breaking the silence.

"Poor guy's just confused," Cyborg replied, taking a break from typing for a moment to read what he had written.

"How long do you think it'll take him to get back to normal?" Robin asked. "We're really hurting, what with two Titans practically out of commission. What's worse is that the media is starting to talk."

Cyborg sighed and rubbed his eye. "Once the wedding stuff blows over and Rae stops chewing him up all the time I'm sure he'll be fine. But there's no way to know how long that'll take."

Robin nodded grimly. "You know I can't afford keeping them on the team if they'll be useless for too long."

"Now don't do anything hasty," Cyborg warned his leader. "After all, if Rae gets her way, things should be back to normal very soon."

"Something tells me Beast Boy isn't going to go along with that."

"Cut him some slack, Rob!" the bionic teen demanded. "This is really hard for him. The last thing he needs is the threat of being kicked off the team looming over his head. He has nothing else to ground him but us."

"We can't afford slack in our line of work," Robin replied. "Believe me, taking him off the team is the last thing I want to do, but the fact is that he can either keep up with his duties, or he can't. As leader of this team, it is my responsibility to be certain that we are all competent, and if this sort of stress is too much for him, then maybe he isn't cut out for the life of a superhero." He glanced at Cyborg. "If I may be perfectly frank."

"I don't see you threatening to kick Raven off the team," Cyborg said angrily. "If someone had to go, which I'm definitely not saying needs to happen, then why wouldn't you go to the root of the problem?"

Robin regarded his friend carefully. "It is in the best interest of our team to not get rid of any of anyone," he replied coolly, "And I'm not going to do anything hasty. But don't think I'm not considering all of the options."

Just as Cyborg was about to offer a furious retort, the console before Robin began to beep. The dark-haired boy rapidly brought up a file to the screen. As he glanced at it, the corners of his mouth turned down.

"Rancid," Robin growled. "He's been sighted in the warehouse district."

"Beast Boy's on patrol there," Cyborg spoke up. "I dunno, you think li'l unstable Beast Boy can deal with it all on his own?" he said, voice heavy with sarcasm.

Robin whirled over to another computer console even as his bionic friend was speaking, already rapidly typing in a pass code that brought up a grid of the city. A few keystrokes brought up a red blinking dot on the grid. Robin grabbed his communicator again, quickly calling the changeling and apparently ignoring Cyborg.

"What's up, Rob?" came the tinny voice of Beast Boy through Robin's communicator a few seconds later.

"Johnny Rancid has been sighted in your vicinity. I'm sending the exact coordinates of his last sighted location to your communicator," Robin said gravely, hands flying across the keyboard on the console once more.

"I'm on it," Beast Boy replied a few moments later.

"Cyborg and I are on our way. Starfire should already be within fifteen minutes of you. We'll be there soon, Beast Boy." Robin said.

"Got it. I can deal with Rancid for fifteen minutes," Beast Boy assured him. "Beast Boy out."

Robin turned to Cyborg as the transmission was ended. "Cyborg?" he began.

"On my way," Cy said with a nod, exiting the room.

It took mere seconds for Robin to contact Starfire and brief her of the situation. She assured him that she was already on her way to Beast Boy's aid and signed off.

Robin had a vague sense of trepidation over the fact that Beast Boy was going to be on his own, potentially fighting Rancid without backup for a while. But then again, maybe this would serve as a test to see if the changeling could still keep up with the demands of a superhero life, or if he had finally cracked under the pressure.

TT

Beast Boy had been sitting on the roof of the tallest warehouse building in the city, swinging his feet over the edge and enjoying the cool, gusty breeze when he received Robin's call. He was happy to be given a mission; the district he was assigned to patrol was small enough that walking through it for half the night was almost unbearable without some sort of action. This was the first criminal activity of the evening, and he was absolutely itching for a good fight. Morphing into a hawk, Beast Boy set off from the rooftop, making a b-line for the warehouse Robin had ordered him to.

The night was a silent one. The moon shone brightly in the cloudless sky, illuminating the streets well enough for him to navigate even if he didn't have superhuman eyesight. His flight was short, as the location Robin had given him was only blocks from where he had been perched when called. As a precaution the shape shifter circled the building several times before landing, checking for any signs of Rancid. Upon finding none, Beast Boy descended quickly and dropped from the air, morphing back into his human form just outside the warehouse. His head turned as he carefully scanned the area for movement.

Nothing. He narrowed his eyes. It certainly wasn't like Rancid to sneak around. He was the type of villain to charge in with some gigantic clanging machine, laughing maniacally and unabashedly taunting his foes. Either Rancid had suddenly learned battle tact (which seemed highly unlikely), or else he had already left the scene. Or perhaps he had never been there. False leads were not uncommon things for the Titans, after all.

The changeling remained still for a few minutes, senses straining for a sign that something was wrong and debating whether or not he should call Robin back. After all, there was no sense in having the whole team investigate a false lead.

With a sigh, Beast Boy decided to take a once around the exterior of the building. Perhaps he had missed something during his aerial assessment. His quick circuit around the building's perimeter turned up very little, however. The place looked like your run of the mill, abandoned warehouse. The only odd thing that Beast Boy noticed was that most of the warehouse's windows had been smashed in, but he couldn't tell if it had been done recently. But there wasn't a single reason to believe that a villain was nearby.

Satisfied that he was in no immediate danger, Beast Boy determined that he ought to inspect the warehouse's interior; he guessed that it had been five minutes since Robin had contacted him, and the Boy Wonder wouldn't be happy to find him just waiting around the location he was expected to investigate when he arrived.

Beast Boy started up to the entrance of the warehouse, his footsteps sounding against the old, cracked pavement. It was pretty eerie, he had to admit, how deathly silent this part of the city was at night. He found a gigantic, rusty, steel door on the side of the building and discovered that it was ajar. It had apparently been like that for quite some time, as it wouldn't budge as he attempted to shove it open a little wider. Luckily he had a rather slight body and was able to squeeze in through the narrow entranceway.

He stepped inside cautiously. Despite the fact that the warehouse was obviously abandoned and had been that way for quite some time by the looks of it, the giant chamber he entered was dimly lit by dozens of buzzing light bulbs that lined the ceiling. How odd. Maybe half of them were burned out, but the working bulbs threw shadows across the mostly empty warehouse with their meager light. Random piles of boxes and barrels covered by dusty blue tarps were all that remained in the abandoned room, and the bulky objects looked ominous in the sparse light.

A barely audible noise that sounded very much like a muffled footstep came from somewhere in the warehouse, immediately putting Beast Boy on edge. He swallowed, anxiety slowly creeping in as he continued to strain his ears for any sign that he was not alone. If it weren't for his animalistic hearing he wouldn't have detected the nearly inaudible break in the silence.

'_Chill out Beast Boy,_' he commanded himself, '_It's probably just a mouse or something. This place has gotta be full of them_.' Beast Boy cautiously stepped further into the room and away from the door. His steps left tracks in the thin layer of dust and grime that covered the floor.

Another noise no louder than the last rang out, this time from behind him.

Beast Boy spun around in fright, prepared to see Johnny Rancid or some other villain poised to attack, but there was no one in sight.

He tried to chuckle to himself. "My mind's just playing tricks on me," Beast Boy muttered in an attempt to relieve his nerves. "There's no one here."

As if on cue, a tarp on the other side of the warehouse shifted, making Beast Boy practically jump out of his skin.

"Who's there?" he demanded, wincing as his unsteady voice reverberated throughout the room. There was no reply. Gathering up all his courage, Beast Boy cautiously began to step over to the source of the disturbance, ready to shift and take flight at the first sign of a coming attack. He felt something crunch beneath his shoe and he jumped back, embarrassed to find that it was just the glass from the many broken windows that littered this part of the expansive warehouse. The moonlight fell in pieces on the floor, further illuminating his path as he crossed the room.

With all the bravery he could muster Beast Boy pulled aside the tarp that he could have sworn he saw move before, and was rewarded only by a cloud of dust that sent him into a coughing fit.

It was just a stack of wooden boxes. Nothing alive. Maybe it was all in his imagination after all. That must be it; he just got himself all worked up and had started seeing things because of how sleep deprived he was. He might as well wait outside the warehouse for his team to show up. This place was seriously giving him the creeps.

He turned, dropping the tarp as he prepared to leave, and looked up just in time to see a massive form drop down from the rafters.

Beast Boy yelped as the object deftly fell to its feet, hardly fazed by the impact of the thirty-foot drop that echoed like a gunshot through the warehouse. It was Johnny Rancid, and he looked devilishly pleased at the changeling's horrified reaction to his grand entrance.

"Boo," he said, erupting into laughter as Beast Boy recovered from his shock.

"Rancid," the boy tried to growl menacingly as he assumed a battle stance, "Don't even try to get away. The rest of the Titans will be here any minute."

"What makes you think I'm gunna try to get away?" Rancid demanded, cracking his knuckles loudly and taking a threatening step forward.

Beast Boy backed up accordingly, boots crunching over more glass.

"Why are you here?" the diminutive Titan demanded, "You don't even have one of your sissy robots to fight your battle for you."

"I'm not lookin' for a fight," Rancid said, "I'll be done before the rest of your twerpy friends show up."

Beast Boy hardly had time to prepare before Rancid struck. He tried to dodge the bungling man's massive fist as it swung sharply at him, but the changeling's reflexes seemed to fail him. The boy was struck forcefully in the right shoulder, sending him flying backwards. His back connected with the ground and he skidded painfully over the filthy, glass-strewn floor. It was all he could do to suppress a cry as stray shards of glass cut into his back.

He leapt up, shifting into a gorilla and preparing to smash the villain before him, but Johnny eluded his massive fists by dodging to the right. Even as he was still in gorilla form, Rancid swung at his side, managing to inflict a punishing blow before Beast Boy could strike again. The green beast roared in pain and shifted into a kangaroo, sending Johnny Rancid careening to the floor with a brilliant kick to the chest.

Rancid was back on his feet before Beast Boy could inflict any more damage, and the villain ran behind the nearest uncovered stack of boxes. He picked up the topmost box with a grunt and sent it flying at the changeling, who shifted into a mouse and scurried to safety behind another tarp ten feet or so away. Once relatively protected, Beast Boy shifted back into human floor and grabbed his communicator from his pocket. He jammed the button to call Robin.

"Rob!" he cried in desperation, "Where are you?"

"Beast Boy," Robin's agitated voice sounded over the device, "We ran into trouble with Adonis downtown. Cyborg's on his way to your location." Beast Boy could hear the sounds of screaming civilians and shattering glass over the communicator and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Dude! Rancid's here! He's–"

Beast Boy was interrupted when the entire mountain of covered boxes he was hiding behind was shoved over, and he barely managed so jump away in time to avoid being crushed as they smashed to the floor, causing more dust to billow up. He had dropped his communicator as he tumbled to safety, and Johnny Rancid's gigantic boot came down on it, sending bits of plastic and sparks flying.

The villain laughed at the changeling's dismayed expression. "And now _you're_ the one who can't get away," he gloated, yelling triumphantly as he charged at the changeling. Rancid's massive fist connected with the Titan's jaw. Beast Boy was sent sprawling to the floor, blood flowing from his mouth as his head erupted in pain. He scrambled to his feet, shifting into a falcon and flapping madly up into the rafters. His focus was set intently upon hiding himself to recoup, but just as he reached the ceiling, a wooden box connected with his avian body. Stunned, Beast Boy was sent careening to the floor.

On the verge of blacking out after the force of the fall, Beast Boy found himself shifted back into human form on the floor, only for Rancid's boot to connect ruthlessly with his chest. He tried desperately to draw in a breath, but the excruciating pain made him cry out instead. Rancid's sadistic laughter continued.

"What's wrong?" he leered, "Not so high and mighty without your friends around, eh?" He chuckled evilly as Beast Boy tried to hiss out a reply, but the struggle to draw air into his lungs occupied all of the changeling's attention.

With a mighty effort Beast Boy struggled to shove himself to his feet, preparing to leap up and make for the door. He had given the fight his all, but now he had to take flight _fast_ before it was too late.

Rancid seemed to perceive his intentions. "Don't worry, I'll let you go soon enough," he laughed, advancing on the wounded Titan.

The changeling regarded him with scorn, spitting blood in Rancid's direction and attempting to articulate through a throbbing jaw, "Cyborg'll be here any minute."

"That's more than enough time," Rancid assured the battered Titan before him, pulling a little case from one of his pants pocket. Beast Boy's vision was swimming before him, but he was sure that he saw a needle being produced from the case as Rancid crouched beside him. The room seemed to swirl around Beast Boy, but he struggled to his knees, only to be shoved over once again by Rancid. The huge man easily pinned the weakened green boy to the ground.

Beast Boy tried to wriggle free as he felt the bite of a needle pierce his arm, but this only made the villain's grip tighten dangerously. On the verge of passing out and hardly able to draw in a single ragged breath with the villain's crushing weight upon him, Beast Boy started to worry that this might not end well. This triggered a deluge of panic; he had to live, for Raven's sake if nothing else!

Beast Boy faintly heard the sound of metal doors being blasted open, which seemed to be coming from very, very far away. The man over him tensed and Beast Boy felt his arm twinge again as the needle was withdrawn.

"Yo!" Get the hell away from Beast Boy!" A furious, but also quite muffled voice exploded, and a flash of sizzling blue energy passed over the fallen Titan's head. The retreating footsteps and victorious laughter of his assailant were the last noises that registered in Beast Boy's exhausted mind as his vision faded to black and he allowed himself to be overtaken by unconsciousness.

--

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Thank you for reading.


	10. Purple and Green

**A.N.** And here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for from the edge of your computer chairs, I'm sure. This is the culmination of the story thus far: the wedding day. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and I do hope that you enjoy it too. So without further ado, ladies and gents, I'm pleased to give you…

Chapter ten of Like It Or Not, entitled, "Purple and Green"

_Friday, May 26; the wedding day_

The room was cold and smelled of antiseptic, just as it always did. That dreadful scent was the first thing that filtered into Beast Boy's groggy mind as be began to come to. The second thing that registered to him was the uncomfortable coolness of wherever he was, and then the din of multiple buzzing and whining machines.

Beast Boy carefully cracked open his eyes. He tried to rub at them when they began to water from the sudden brightness, but found that his joints protested when he tried to move. He forced his eyes to open all the way. His whole body was sore. What, had he had an altercation with a brick wall the day before or something?

Oh. That's right, the fight with Johnny Rancid. Beast Boy swallowed and winced. Even that hurt. How the heck had he survived? He was sure that he was down for the count around the time that he started spitting blood and couldn't breathe. He vaguely recalled a ferocious blue light… Cyborg's sonic cannon… and then nothing at all. Darkness had taken over him. He must have been carried here, to the infirmary, but he hadn't the slightest recollection of anything that happened after that.

He glanced to his left, and his neck cracked in protest. Under the digital clock across the room, which proclaimed that it was nearly half past eleven in the morning on May 26, was the room's only other occupant. Raven was slumped over a metal chair, arms crossed tightly over her chest. The girl's head was leaned back against the wall, and even in sleep her face was contorted with a grimace of discomfort. Her hood was pushed back but her cloak was wrapped securely over her body, probably because of how frigid the room was.

Beast Boy couldn't stop a grin from slowly spreading over his face. She must have healed him again. That was the only plausible explanation as to how he could have sustained such a beating just hours before and was a bit sore instead of six feet under. He quickly scanned his body. He was wearing a flimsy, hospital gown-like smock, which appeared to be spattered and soaked in some places with dried blood, and he was hooked up to a heart monitor. Beast Boy brought his hand to his left side, which had apparently bled profusely just hours before. He hesitantly pulled aside his cloth covering, only to discover that there was absolutely no sign of damage to the skin beneath. He blinked in disbelief. He distinctly remembered sustaining injuries from ruthless strike after strike and being sent sprawling to the ground again and again until he had been turned into a bloody pulp á la Rancid. Raven was excellent at healing wounds, but even her work left bruises or scars behind if the injuries were bad enough, and his certainly had been.

The changeling sat up, doing his best to ignore his aching body. This was incredible! He practically felt totally fine. Beast Boy unhooked himself from the heart monitor, causing it to beep loudly until he shut off the machine altogether. He glanced over at Raven, who had jumped at the sudden irregular noise. He looked at her sheepishly as she straightened, adjusting her cloak and standing. At noticing that Beast Boy was awake, Raven moved over to him pensively, hands clasped beneath her cloak and out of sight.

"How are you feeling?" she asked evenly, eyebrows slightly drawn together as she carefully took in his appearance.

"Great! Better than great," he assured her. "Incredible, considering what happened to me yesterday."

"You remember what happened then?"

"Kind of," Beast Boy replied. "I remember the fight, and then laying on the ground, and then…" His eyes widened significantly as he recalled another part of what had happened. "Rancid! He injected me with something. What did he do to me, Raven?"

Raven's carefully even expression never wavered. "You need to speak with Cyborg about that. I will call him up here when we are finished."

"Could it have something to do with why I'm completely healed?" Beast Boy mused aloud, running a gloveless hand through his heavily mussed hair. "It doesn't make sense at all, but how could I be perfectly fine after practically dying yesterday?"

Raven's eyebrows rose. "Your healing was certainly not Johnny Rancid's doing, Beast Boy. I healed you."

"But how? I didn't think you could, I mean, heal wounds like that _completely_."

The empath smiled wryly. "Do you have any idea how much energy builds up when someone like me is left with no outlet for their power for so long?"

"That's awesome!" Beast Boy said excitedly, but he quickly sobered upon noticing Raven's less than enthusiastic expression. "I mean, thanks for saving my life."

"And in so doing, saving my own," Raven sighed.

The changeling blinked, heart suddenly beating fast as his thoughts shifted. "Oh my God, we're getting married today, Raven."

"You forgot?" Raven smirked.

Beast Boy did not return the grin. He suddenly remembered all the things he had thought and said about the marriage just the day before. How he had wished he hadn't agreed to go through with it, and how he had thought that Raven didn't care a bit about him. And yet she had just rescued him from certain death. Sure, she might have been more fearful for her own life than for his, but there had been an undeniable expression of worry in her eyes as she looked upon him that morning. So just maybe she cared if he lived or died. That thought brightened his spirits considerably.

The changeling looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Raven looked confused. "For forgetting our wedding day?"

Beast Boy exhaled delicately. "No, for… well, I've kinda made you miserable about getting married since you told me in the first place."

Raven carefully leaned back against the examination table where Beast Boy sat.

"I can hardly blame you for that," she replied.

Beast Boy frowned as he shook his head. "But you don't know what I've said. What I've been thinking."

"You're entitled to say and think what you want," Raven said stiffly. "Neither of us want to marry. Speaking out against it is hardly a crime."

"I hate that it has to be like this," Beast Boy said regretfully.

"It is unfortunate," Raven agreed. "But if we deal with the situation maturely, our lives barely need to change. It doesn't need to be painful."

Beast Boy regarded her thoughtfully, a hint of irritation suddenly coloring his demeanor. How many times had they shared the exact same conversation that he sensed they were at the outset of regressing into? He could feel himself growing annoyed, but was fully aware that she was prepared to take any cross words he proffered and respond with some of her own biting remarks. He frowned deeply. He didn't want that to happen again. Not today, just hours from the ceremony. And what had Cyborg said? He needed to have a positive attitude. He had to be optimistic without being pushy, because if he didn't play his cards right, everything would turn out worse than it was headed now.

"What if it could be painless," he began cautiously, "But not… unnecessarily platonic either?"

The corners of Raven's mouth turned down. "I don't think you know what you're asking," she replied in what he perceived to be a warning tone.

Beast Boy couldn't help himself. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Raven, I'm not quite _that_ stupid."

"You're stupid enough to try to take on Johnny Rancid alone when you're severely sleep deprived."

Beast Boy glowered at her. "That wasn't my fault! I had no choice but to fight."

"You could have fled."

"Titans don't flee. Robin would have a fit if I even thought about it."

"Don't worry about what Robin thinks," Raven insisted. "He is one of the few people still around who values honor over their own life."

Beast Boy grinned contemptuously. "Then you agree that's pretty stupid, right? Being too proud to save yourself and do what it takes to stay alive?"

By that time Raven was glaring back at the changeling, not with the same reckless fire, but with an icy sort of chill that somehow burned even more.

"Do not think you have the right to criticize me, Beast Boy," she said, fury growing beneath her calm surface.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that I wasn't aloud to return the favor of being verbally ripped into for everything we disagree about."

Raven's hands clenched and unclenched subconsciously. "I think it's time for me to get Cyborg," she said.

"Fine, just leave and refuse to answer me."

"What in hell do you want to know?" Raven spat. "Is this in reference to your request that we break down and be intimate? Or are you waiting for me to confess that you're right, that I really should fall at your feet and gladly ruin my life by submitting to you? Your lack of gratitude is disgusting. I save your life and yet you can't bear to cease pestering me for ten minutes." She pushed herself off of Beast Boy's table, turning around so she could glare down at him.

"I never asked that we 'break down and be intimate'," Beast Boy replied through clenched teeth as he forced himself to stand as well. He slid off the table so that he could look Raven evenly in the eyes again, never breaking eye contact as he struggled not to fall. His legs trembled with so much weakness that he braced his hand on the table for support. "That isn't why we're marrying, and I don't want it to be why we marry."

"Then what do you want from me?" Raven exclaimed, obviously at her wits end.

"I want us both to be happy."

"That's a politician's answer. Tell me what you _want_."

"I want you to see me as more than a problem, Raven," he replied fervently. "Because I am. I'm too tired to keep fighting with you. I want us to get along and have a relationship deeper than just being teammates. Kisses, hugs – I don't care. They're just ways to express what I am willing to feel for you if you'll let me, and what I can only dream of you reciprocating towards me."

"Kisses, hugs," Raven repeated bitterly. "To start off with, I presume. No male would be satisfied with that forever."

"Is that what you're really afraid of, then?" Beast Boy said, his breath escaping in a disbelieving laugh. "You think I'm going to start demanding sex or something one day if we're anything but enemies?"

"I don't think it would be long at all before you began badgering me for more than kisses and hugs, after we've started down the uncontrollable course of affection."

Beast Boy shook his head and swallowed heavily, finally breaking eye contact and sitting down again. He looked away from Raven.

"Do you know nothing about me?" Beast Boy implored. "Do you think I'm… like that?"

"It's how all men are," Raven replied, keeping her voice strong.

Beast Boy didn't say anything right away. He just fiddled absently with the edge of his thin gown and stared forward. Was this the real reason that Raven so ardently desired they stay as far apart as possible? She seriously believed that he would consider hurting her? When had he _ever_ given her grounds to believe that he was the kind of guy to pressure her into a relationship she wasn't ready for? Did she have any freaking idea how hard he tried to give her the space she needed, especially recently? Jokes and junk were one thing, but he knew his boundaries.

Beast Boy sighed sadly. "Fine, maybe it is. But even if those feelings might always be there," he spoke carefully, "Choosing to restrain or act on them is what sets the good guys from the creeps. I'm far from perfect, but I'm not a creep, Raven."

He searched Raven's face carefully for a sign that she accepted what he had said, but her face remained infuriatingly blank. With a sigh he extended his hand, gloveless and clammy, in Raven's direction. She regarded it warily. Beast Boy's even expression revealed nothing, but when he refused to withdraw it, she slowly took her hand from where it had been clenched tightly beneath her cloak. Raven cautiously placed her hand in his, involuntarily stiffening as he closed his larger hand tightly about hers. His hand was warm but moist with sweat, his grip strong but oddly gentle. Raven couldn't help but observe how totally her hand was enveloped by his, the odd pigmentation of their skin not precisely clashing but making for an odd contrast. Emerald and pale grey. Her eyes drifted back up to Beast Boy's face to find that his gaze had hardly left her own.

"Raven," he began, the gravity of his words not lost on her as he articulated them with complete honesty, "I will _never_ force you to be intimate with me. I respect you way too much to hurt you like that. I can be stupid sometimes, but that's one mistake I swear I'll never make, so don't worry about it."

The empath tried to swallow away the thickness that had suddenly constricted her throat, but her eyes remained enraptured by his and the abnormal amount of seriousness they betrayed.

She blinked and withdrew her hand quickly, bringing it back under the sanctuary of her cloak. She cleared her throat. "I'll go get Cyborg."

With that Raven quickly left the room, and Beast Boy was left alone, dismayed but not entirely surprised at her rapid depart. He stared down at his hand, disbelief over what had just happened clouding his mind. He lay down with a sigh, stared up at the ceiling, and crossed his arms over his chest. God, he would never understand that girl.

Beast Boy wasn't left to his thoughts for long. Cyborg quickly arrived, a relieved smile on his face.

"Good to see you're finally awake. How you doin', little man?" the bionic teenager asked his friend, letting the mechanical door slide closed behind him.

"Great," Beast Boy replied easily. "Raven fixed me up perfectly."

"She outdid herself this time," Cyborg agreed. "So, no pain? Any residual soreness?"

"A little. I was pretty achy when I woke up, but I'm doing better now."

"Excellent," Cyborg said, nodding. He still hadn't moved from where he stood before the door. Beast Boy finally noticed this and the slightly strained smile on his friend's face, and a sense of fear began to fill him. Suddenly he remembered what Raven had said that Cyborg would need to tell him.

"What did Rancid do to me?" he asked plainly, hoping that his voice didn't betray his sudden worry.

Cyborg exhaled deeply. "We're not sure," he admitted. "I've done every blood test that I am capable of performing, but nothing has turned up. I've sent some samples to Star Labs for further analysis, but I just don't think I missed anything."

Beast Boy's eyebrows knit together. "That doesn't make any sense. I know there was a needle. I felt it."

Cyborg nodded. "And I saw it. But that doesn't mean he injected you with anything."

"Well, what else could it be?"

"That took me a minute to realize too," Cyborg admitted. "But besides putting something into your system, Rancid could have taken something _out_."

"You mean…?"

"He could have drawn your blood," Cyborg said grimly. "Personally, I would be very impressed if he found a vein, but by the time it occurred to me to check the point of penetration on your arm, Rae had already started healing you up."

Beast Boy made a sour face. "I shouldn't have tried to fight him," he groaned. "I thought I could take him one-on-one, at least for a while, but I was soo wrong."

Cyborg shrugged. "There's nothing you can do to change what happened. All we can do now is wait and hope that this won't amount to anything."

"That would be too good to be true," Beast Boy said dejectedly. "Any clue what my blood could be used for?"

"A whole lot of messed up things, BB," he admitted. "I'll have to do some research. This isn't my area of specialty."

The changeling brought a hand to his face. "I'm such an idiot."

"Yeah, you are."

Beast Boy glanced past his hand at his friend and was relieved to see that Cyborg was smiling.

"There really is nothing you can do now but wait and be cautious for a while," Cyborg said. "That means no more one-on-one fights. And if you ask me, I'd be worrying more about what Robin's going to do to you than what Rancid might."

Unfortunately, Cyborg didn't appear to be joking about that point. Ah crap. Robin had never been Beast Boy's favorite guy, nor was he Robin's. Even if not in conflict exactly, there was always a certain amount of tension between them. Besides Robin's frustrating superiority complex was his unwillingness to trust even his own teammates, as seen plainly when the Beast had surfaced. Beast Boy always got angry when he thought about how easily Robin had threatened to have him kicked off the team and put in jail. He could never look at his leader quite the same way again after that, and there was no way of knowing what Robin was thinking behind that dumb white mask anyway. And now he had given his leader a whole heaping ton of fresh fodder to fuel his fire of doubt against Beast Boy's competency.

Cyborg regarded Beast Boy sadly. "Just try to forget about it while you can, alright? What's done is done. There's no sense in beating yourself up."

"Easy for you to say," Beast Boy groaned. "Some loony tune didn't steal _your_ blood. God, life sucks."

"Did you at least square anything away while Rae was in here?" Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy smiled gloomily. "I really tried," he admitted. "But I think I just scared her away."

"How's that?"

"I was being perfectly civil, I swear. We both were, I guess. Then she just ran out."

"She did look pretty flustered when she came to find me."

"Really? Did she say anything?"

"Nothing. Just told me you were awake and I needed to talk to you about what I thought happened yesterday," Cyborg replied. "Must have been a pretty intense civil argument to shake Rae up like that though. She isn't easy to scare."

"Why can't I do anything right?" Beast Boy lamented. "I just can't win with her, yelling or talking."

"Must have been an interesting talk."

"It's none of your business," Beast Boy said edgily.

Cyborg held up his hands in defense. "Fine, fine. Every couple is entitled to their secrets. C'mon, if you're feeling up to it, I think it's about time to prep for your wedding."

Beast Boy groaned again. "I need to talk to Raven first," he said. "We can't just go and get married now, not after we parted company like we just did."

"Chill out, man. It'll be fine. Star's probably with her now, and something tells me that Rae'll find more comfort talking to Star right now than with you anyway. You'll just have to wait until your wedding night to enjoy each other's company again."

Beast Boy chuckled derisively. "You're hilarious, you know that?" he bit.

"Actually, yes," Cyborg replied smugly. "You hungry? We could drop by that place that always gives us free subs, if you hurry up and go get dressed. Starfire's got the perfect sunset wedding planned for you and lover girl, so we've got a little time."

"Sunset, huh?" Beast Boy said absently, checking the clock again. It was just after noon. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty hungry. His stomach was churning like it was full of crazed eels, but you'd be surprised how much recouping from a near death experience took out of you. "Subs it is," he consented.

TT

Raven was feeling inconsolable as she paced around her bedroom in her wedding dress, Starfire scuttling after her to fix her makeup or hair or to fuss at her dress. She had tried speaking with Starfire about what was troubling her, but she found herself far too embarrassed to speak frankly. And so she was left to her own tumultuous thoughts, checking her bedside clock every few minutes as time crept by slowly.

The afternoon had passed far too quickly. Raven had lost herself in meditation, in a vain attempt to control her emotions. Optimistically her powers would return that evening. After a week of being far too angry, frightened, and worried, Raven didn't want to think about what might happen if she didn't put all effort into checking her emotions before her powers came back.

It wasn't safe for her to feel like this. It wasn't safe for Beast Boy to _make_ her feel like this. Why did he have to go and complicate things with his adamant promises and uncomfortable desire to get along with her? Raven didn't miss the irony of it all; she couldn't stand him when he was whining for her to pay attention to him, and she was spooked beyond belief when he showed her that frightfully deep and intimate side of his. She just didn't know how to deal with any of him. She couldn't take being so close to another person.

"Raven," Starfire sighed lightly as she tugged a stray tendril of the empath's hair back into its place, "Your beauty this day is marred only by your agitation."

Raven pulled away from Starfire to look at herself in the mirror. She looked like a different person in her light blue dress and heels. Her makeup was liberal enough and her hair was curled loosely. She scoffed to herself. She did not feel beautiful in the slightest. The dark circles under her eyes couldn't be hidden by Starfire's makeup, and her skin was an even more washed out light grey than usual, in her opinion.

"Thanks, Starfire," she replied in spite of her own doubt. "You look nice too."

Starfire beamed brightly at the compliment. The redhead was dressed in a pale pink, ankle length dress, which made her look even more beautiful than normal. Her hair was pinned up simply and she had foregone makeup, in what Raven was convinced was a subtle effort to not upstage the bride (a feat which Raven didn't think would be difficult at all for Starfire to accomplish anyway).

The alien carefully stepped over to Raven's window. The sun was descending in the sky, filling the heavens with the first traces of red and gold.

"It is time," she said lightly, beginning to gently usher Raven from the room. "Tell me, are you excited?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Raven breathed, resting a hand on her stomach.

Starfire smiled wisely. "I believe such a feeling is normal," she assured her friend. "You will be fine, I am sure."

With that, Starfire gave Raven's hand a squeeze and led Raven out of her bedroom and towards where the ceremony was to take place.

TT

Robin wasn't looking at Beast Boy, and Beast Boy sure as hell wasn't looking at Robin. The two tuxedo clad Titans stood in tense silence in the decorated common room, Robin facing the entrance with unwavering stillness.

Beast Boy did what he could not to make eye contact with his leader, who had been gracious enough not to speak to him, except for easy orders as to where he should stand and when he should speak and whatnot. Starfire really had outdone herself for this wedding. Bouquets of flowers graced every lace-adorned surface, the ceiling was strung with shimmering lights and elegant streamers, and the floor was covered in sleek red cloth to form a makeshift aisle. Even some of the walls were hung with elegant beige cloth.

The changeling cleared his throat awkwardly. "The place looks great," he offered.

Robin nodded slowly. "Starfire has a talent for things like this."

"I appreciate you doing this for us."

"I don't have a choice," Robin replied in a monotone that rivaled Raven's.

Beast Boy chuckled nervously and was silent.

It took far too long for Raven and Starfire to arrive. Cyborg had been out in the hall waiting for them, and when Beast Boy finally heard his friend's muffled but still booming voice, he couldn't help but sigh in relief. He glanced out the window, across the bay. The sun had begun to set.

And just like that, the event, which had for so long (so it seemed) been dreaded as a formidable culmination of the frightful shift in the lives of the Teen Titans, was underway.

Music began to play, and Beast Boy started to sweat. A lingering melody played by violins filled the room to the tune of Here Comes the Bride, and the common room door slid open. Starfire, with much jubilation, emerged first, carrying a white whicker basket of pale rose petals. As she drifted effortlessly down the makeshift aisle with a brilliant smile shining across her entire face, she tossed handfuls of the petals to the red covered floor.

Next came Cyborg, his hologram ring providing him with a sleek black tuxedo, not unlike those worn by the other male Titans. Arm resting on his much stronger one, Raven stepped along carefully beside him as Cyborg slowly made his way down the aisle behind Starfire. Extremely conscious of the attention on her, Raven couldn't help but blush, but she squared her shoulders and attempted to keep her discomfort from her face as she walked. Her eyes drifted upward to the altar, where Robin stood, coolly surveying his approaching teammates, a placid grin turning up the corners of his mouth. Raven's eyes shifted to Beast Boy, and their gazes locked. She couldn't help but blush a bit more deeply and a faint smile found its way to her face. Beast Boy looked downright scared. She could see him fidgeting, shifting his stance as if not trusting himself to stay upright if he stilled. And still – she had to admire his courage – he returned her grin, a pink tinge coloring his face.

Starfire reached the front of the common room and gracefully tossed the last few petals to the floor. She smiled at Robin and floated off to sit on the front pew, which had been ingeniously converted from one of the training room's benches, with the help of generous amounts of beige fabric, lace, and boughs of multicolored roses.

Far too quickly, so it seemed, Raven and Cyborg also reached the makeshift altar in front of the great window. The sky was filled with deep red and pink by then, and the same hues filtered into the common room. Cyborg gave Raven's hand a squeeze as the music faded, and the look in his eye was nothing short of the pride of a father giving away his daughter. He too retreated to the makeshift pews, and Raven was left standing at the altar facing Beast Boy. Their eyes locked again, and Raven was unable to decipher the melee of feelings expressed in Beast Boy's shining emerald eyes.

Robin cleared his throat carefully and took up a sheet of paper.

"Titans," he began slowly, his confident voice resonating through the otherwise silent common room, "We have gathered here today to mark the joining of Garfield Logan and Raven Roth as they embark upon the journey of marriage. In accordance with the holy laws of Azarath and in the sight of all deity, Garfield and Raven are today promising to face the future together and accept whatever may lie ahead."

Robin turned first to Beast Boy. "Garfield, will you take Raven to be your wife, in sickness and in health, for richer of for poorer, during battle or peace? Will you respect her, be honest with her, and stand by her until the day ordained for your marriage with her to be broken?"

Beast Boy inclined his head with confidence. "I will," he replied sedately.

Robin then turned to Raven. "Raven, will you take Garfield to be your husband, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, during battle or peace? Will you respect him, be honest with him, and stand by his side until the day ordained for your marriage with him to be broken?"

"I will," Raven responded evenly.

"And now the recitation of the vows. Garfield, you first."

Beast Boy swallowed and after a moment began. "Raven," he said somewhat hoarsely. He winced and cleared his throat quietly. "You're everything I'm not. You're brilliant, beautiful, brave, clever, and wise. I want to be there for you, for as long as you let me be, to ground you and feel everything with you. I want to be the one you turn to for comfort and joy, and I promise to be the best husband I know how to be. Even though we can drive each other crazy, I promise to try not to let that get in our way." All these words he spoke while looking into Raven's eyes, and her breath was taken away again by the deep sincerity they betrayed. A numb feeling had begun to creep through Raven's body, and having Beast Boy's profoundly earnest attention upon her filled her inexplicable nervousness.

"And Raven," Robin prodded gently.

"Garfield," Raven began just as quietly, trying madly to organize her thoughts. She paused. "You're also everything I'm not. You're lively and outgoing, adventurous and spontaneous – in short, we're opposites. They say that opposites attract, but I don't know what to think anymore. I want to be a good wife, even though I don't know if I have that capacity. I promise to do what I can, though, to make our lives as happy as possible, given the circumstances. I promise to try to tolerate your idiocy, and in return, I hope you will try to tolerate mine."

Robin was grinning even more by the end of their vows. "Gar," he asked, "You've got the rings?"

"Sure do," Beast Boy replied, producing the two wedding rings from a pocket in his tux. He handed one of them to Raven.

"Garfield, Raven, please exchange rings now, and they will forever serve as a reminder of the commitment you make today."

Hesitantly and somewhat awkwardly, the betrothed exchanged rings. Raven noticed how much Beast Boy's hands were shaking as he tried to slip her wedding ring onto her finger, and she hoped that she at least appeared more confident as she delicately reciprocated the action.

Robin took a deep breath. "As Garfield and Raven have expressed the mutual desire that they be joined this day in holy matrimony, by the power invested in me by God, as their leader and friend, I now declare them man and wife." He paused, the grin on his face growing a bit more still. "Garfield, you may kiss your bride," Robin announced, looking between the newlyweds.

Raven and Beast Boy exchanged a tentative glance, and the urge to bolt became strangely tempting to the empath. But, alas, before she worked up the motivation to flee, Beast Boy decided to take charge. The changeling flashed a mischievous smile at his bride before taking a step towards her and suddenly wrapping his arms around her, dipping her back and leaning in. His lips met hers with confidence and gentleness, and there they lingered while Beast Boy savored the intoxicating beauty that had suddenly become his.

Starfire squealed and clapped her hands in excitement. Cyborg chuckled and looked away from the couple, making a motion as if to wipe a tear from his eye. Robin sighed lightly through a smile, and even with his mask in place, it was obvious that he was rolling his eyes.

Beast Boy and Raven didn't notice the reactions of their friends whatsoever. When their lips met, the room seemed to dim around them. And unfortunately, that feeling couldn't be attributed totally to the purely physical sensation of their embrace.

From their simple connection, Raven felt Beast Boy's warmth flood through her, and her eyes fluttered closed. His touch was respectful, his arms gently supporting her back but managing to keep the space between their bodies that she needed to keep from having some sort of breakdown. As he pressed his lips more tightly to hers, however, she could distinctly feel a bizarre stirring within her body, as if something deep inside her was moving, awakening. When the strange, rustling feeling did not subside, but instead seemed to be rising, Raven suspected that it wasn't just her nerves acting up. She sharply took in a breath as she felt her essence, her _soul-self_, lifting upward on its own accord, through the connection between them, and somehow she sensed that the same was happening to Beast Boy. Even with her eyes shut, she could feel their spirits coming together, purple melding with green, before the combined spirit divided into two and fell back into their bodies.

As suddenly as the sensation had begun, it ceased, leaving Beast Boy and Raven utterly disoriented. Raven pulled away from Beast Boy and he no less than stumbled backwards. They shared an identical stunned expression, neither knowing how to verbalize the mutual question that hung in the air between them.

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg looked on in confusion, not understanding why the ten-second embrace had left their newly married friends in such a stupor.

"Something wrong?" Robin asked when no one else made an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

The trance holding Beast Boy and Raven captive broke, and they both turned to look at Robin, who still stood before them at the window. The sun had almost completely set, and shadows had filled the common room.

Raven, fearing that something was indeed quite wrong, wasn't certain of how to answer her leader.

"Something… changed," she replied, voice wavering, as she pushed back the hair that had fallen over her face during the kiss.

"Something other than the fact that you two just got married?" Robin asked incredulously.

Raven shook her head, not knowing what to say. "I'm not precisely sure," she admitted. "I need to meditate."

"Please, Raven," Starfire begged her, "You must wait until after the reception party to do the meditating, for I have spent much time preparing your celebration."

The empath swallowed. She really couldn't refuse, knowing how much work Starfire had willingly put into this event. Still, she would never be able to enjoy herself during this unfortunate predicament, especially not now that she had burning questions that needed to be answered. But she would just have to grin and bear it, or at least bear it and leave the grinning to her blissfully unmarried friends.

She reluctantly nodded her agreement and Starfire smiled brilliantly.

"Come, my friends! A glorious celebration has been prepared for this joyous occasion in our room of dining," Starfire said, floating over to the new couple and taking each of them by the hand. Raven didn't turn to look at Beast Boy as they were ushered out of the room. She knew he was as dumbstruck as she. She knew that something was radically different and very wrong indeed. And, Azar help her, part of her didn't even _want_ to know what had happened.

"Well Raven certainly doesn't look happy," Robin remarked to his bionic friend as the other three Titans retreated from the common room.

"I'll say," Cyborg agreed, obviously worried. "Any clue what's up with her?"

"Beats me. She would tell us if it was something… critical, right?"

"Maybe," Cyborg replied halfheartedly. His expression changed and he smiled, clapping Robin warmly on the back. "You were great up there, man. Couldn't even tell it was your first wedding."

Robin smirked. "Well, I hope it was my last."

"Maybe the last one you officiate, but I'll give ya three years tops before you're the one walking down the isle with Starfire," Cyborg teased his friend.

The Boy Wonder blushed slightly but ignored his friend's comment. "Come on," he said. "Starfire's probably wondering where we are."

TT

Sure enough, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy were already in the dining room when the other two boys arrived. The alien was graciously soaking up the impressed remarks of her friends as they examined the room.

It only took a cursory glance about the dining hall to tell how much effort Starfire had put into making the room look beautiful. White cloth covered the dining table and vases of beautiful white and red roses laced with baby's breath decorated every available surface. Gold streamers had been carefully hung from the ceiling, and white balloons were scattered about the expansive room. On one table, several packages wrapped in metallic gold paper sat on a pile, and on another table, a crystal punch bowl glinted under the bright lights. A table was filled with a buffet style line of serving trays, each with a different food offering within. Even the flatware had been carefully chosen to match the festive gold and white theme.

"Oh good, you are here!" the alien exclaimed upon seeing Cyborg and Robin at the entrance to the room. "Raven has expressed desire that our party not last long, so I am anxious to begin."

"Then let's eat," Cyborg remarked. "I'm starvin'. I guess watching your little girl get hitched really works up an appetite."

The Titans proceeded to eat supper, and Raven and Beast Boy proceeded to feel uncomfortable around each other to the point that Raven didn't think she could look him in the face without blushing. It was completely ridiculous, really, but if her recently developed hunch about what had taken place when they kissed was correct, then she had plenty to feel awkward about with him.

The meal was excellent, even though Raven for one hardly noticed what she was ingesting, so tumultuous were her thoughts. She was aware enough of her surroundings, however, to raise an eyebrow at Cyborg when he pulled a bottle of champagne from the fridge and proceeded to fill five crystal flutes with the stuff.

"What? It's a present from the mayor left over from last New Year's. Suit yourself if you don't want any," Cyborg declared in Robin's direction in response to his leader's skeptical look.

"Dude, I'll have his," Beast Boy piped up from where he had been twirling the same section of now cold spaghetti around his fork for five minutes straight.

"No you won't," Raven interjected. "You're crazy enough without alcohol in your system."

"Well one glass won't kill me," Beast Boy said sullenly, taking the proffered flute from Cyborg's hand.

Everyone, even Robin, ended up taking a glass of champagne.

"To our dearest friends Garfield and Raven Logan," Starfire toasted joyfully. "May they find true happiness and love and all that is good and enjoyable to share together from this day forward."

"Here, here," Cyborg replied, raising his glass, and his teammates followed suit.

"What about the wedding cake?" Beast Boy asked, swirling the alcohol around in his glass. "For going though all this I sure hope I at least get a damn cake."

"Of course!" Starfire exclaimed. "Cyborg, would you like to retrieve the wedding cake from the kitchen while I clean up from supper?"

Cyborg consented and departed momentarily, retuning quickly with a massive wedding cake in tow.

"Where d'ya want this, Star?" he asked, face almost hidden from sight by the five-tiered confection, which was covered in white frosting and adorned with pale green and pale purple lace and flowers. "This thing weighs a ton!" He plunked it down on the dining table where a space big enough for it had been cleared.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, sitting up, "That thing's huge!"

"Robin and I picked it out with utmost care," Starfire beamed. "And I believe you will be pleased to know that there are absolutely no animal products hidden within it."

Robin smirked. "Yeah, Starfire kept quite an eye on the bakery to make sure they didn't forget to keep it vegan friendly. She drove them nuts, actually."

"I call first piece," Beast Boy spoke up, obviously torn from his lapse of worried silence by the towering confection.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" Cyborg began mischievously.

"What?" the changeling inquired.

"Come on, you've never seen a cheesy wedding movie before?" Cyborg chided good-naturedly, "The newlyweds always cut the cake together and feed each other the first bite."

Both Raven and Beast Boy couldn't help but blush at this (for the umpteenth time that evening), and different parts of the ceiling suddenly became incredibly interesting.

"Not happening," Raven said in a finalizing tone.

"But it's tradition," Robin spoke up.

"Yes, well there's a lot of tradition that Beast Boy and I are breaking with this wedding," Raven replied.

"Speaking of which…" Robin began.

"Don't get ahead of us, man," Cyborg cut in, perceiving where Robin's line of thought was going. "Cake first. And maybe more champagne."

"Sounds like a plan," Beast Boy consented, holding out his champagne flute to Cyborg for more.

Fifteen minutes later found the Titans full of cake (which Starfire ended up cutting), the empty champagne bottle in the recycling bin ("What?" Robin defended, "No day is a holiday from our responsibility to the environment."), and all five Titans seated around the recently cleared, cloth covered dining table.

"Well, not that I don't just love celebrating events that I wish I could forget about," Raven spoke up, crossing her arms over her chest, "But is there anything left on the evening's itinerary, or am I free to go attempt to drown my sorrows in meditation?"

"Sheesh," Beast Boy replied, "Usually people mellow out after imbibing alcohol, not get even more nasty."

"Yes, well, I'd say that I have something to be nasty about, Beast Boy."

"And just what the heck is that supposed to mean?" the changeling demanded.

"Ah true love," Robin sighed sarcastically.

"Bickerin' like an old married couple already," Cyborg added. "How cute."

"In regards to your question about the rest of our planned celebrations, Raven," Starfire spoke up, wishing to forestall the argument she saw coming, "I believe we only have your wedding gifts left to open."

"We get presents for getting married? Sweet," Beast Boy replied, turning his attention from the empath.

"Weren't you wondering what the pile of gifts was sitting on that table for?" Robin inquired.

"Oh. I guess I wasn't paying attention," Beast Boy responded lamely.

"Give the man a break, Rob," Cyborg said, "For Pete's sake, if I just got married I wouldn't be thinking about presents either."

Starfire effortlessly carried the entire stack over to the dining table and hefted them down between Raven and Beast Boy.

"Begin with this one, please," she said, thrusting a medium sized box into Beast Boy's hands. And, of course, this action had the desired effect on the changeling, whose face suddenly lit up with a glow like that on a child's face on Christmas morning.

Hardly ten minutes later, there was a pile of shiny wrapping paper in tiny pieces on the floor (thanks to Beast Boy, of course), and a pile of unwrapped gifts on the table. All in all, they _were_ nice presents. There were books and comic books for the two of them, a monopoly set and a chess set, classic monogrammed towels, organic chocolates, a purple and green striped bedding set (it really was _amazing_ that Cyborg didn't have holes burned into his head yet from the glares he received for that one), and a few picture frames with decent pictures of the two of them that had been taken over the years.

"Well," Raven said, obviously impressed by the unexpected generosity of her friends. "Thank you all for the presents, I suppose." She watched as Beast Boy tried to fold their new towels into perfect squares.

"Yeah, they're nice," he grinned in agreement.

"And there is one gift we have yet to present," Starfire proclaimed happily.

"You see," Robin began, taking his cue with a sly smile upon his face, "Star was talking to me about this, and at first I was dubious, but after a little consideration and in light of… certain recent events, she managed to convince me."

"Convince you of what?" Raven asked, a distinct feeling of unease growing inside her.

Robin's grin grew. "Well, we figured that we'd never be able to get you two to go on a honeymoon, so we decided to bring the honeymoon to you. For the next week, we're excusing you two from all Titan duties, unless a serious emergency presents itself."

"You lovebirds are free to go wherever, and do whatever you want for seven whole days," Cyborg added. "We'll try to stay out of your way," he winked.

"Dude, not funny," Beast Boy whined, crossing his arms and staring in aggravation at the table.

"Are you trying to make our lives miserable?" Raven demanded, affecting a similar posture to the green Titan's.

"Oh, certainly not! But I have learned that this moon of honey is a very important time of bonding for new Earth couples," Starfire protested. "Do you not wish to bond with friend Beast Boy?"

Raven blinked. She regarded her best female friend carefully. "Believe it or not, that's not on my most pressing to do list," she answered.

"Well, that sucks for you then," Robin shrugged indifferently, "Because you're out of a job for the next week. Looks like you'll have plenty of lonely meditation time now."

"And I'll be able to sleep," Beast Boy said, almost dreamily.

"What about patrol duty?" Raven asked. "How are you going to get by with only three people?"

Robin shrugged. "Kid Flash and Jinx agreed to help us out."

"You didn't," Raven said murderously.

"What?" Robin laughed, "Tell them about you and Beast Boy? No. That's another thing we'll have to talk about sometime. I'd be extremely surprised if we could keep your wedding a secret from the likes of the rest of the Justice League and all the Titans for two years."

"Just watch," Raven replied determinedly.

"Hang on," Beast Boy interjected. "All you had to do was call up Kid Flash and now he's helping us out? Why didn't you do that _before_ we started doing killer half-night patrol shifts?"

"Relax, Beast Boy. I'm sure that he keeps busy enough with his own duties as it is. I told him that you two will be indisposed for a week or so – stop glaring, Raven, I'm sure he'll just assume you're sick – and that I would appreciate him looking after the city for a while. That leaves the rest of us to warehouse district patrol, and after a certain unfortunate incident, I would feel better if we doubled up on that patrol shift anyway."

"Well, it's late," Cyborg yawned, eager to escape before the growing tenseness in the room grew any greater. "I should go… do some research before recharging."

Beast Boy sighed morosely at this, remembering yet another thing he was supposed to be worried about. He didn't speak, however, as Cyborg stood to leave.

"Goodnight, y'all. And all the best to the newlyweds," he said with a grand bow in the direction of Beast Boy and Raven.

"Yes, I believe it would be a good idea to allow our newly wed friends to enjoy each other's company," Starfire said innocently with a gentle smile. "Perhaps you would like to help me clean up the common room before we go on patrol, Robin?" she asked.

Robin agreed and they left the dining room together, parting company with Raven and Beast Boy with well wishes.

And just like that, Raven and Beast Boy were left alone in the dining room, sitting side by side at the table in silence, still clad in their respective wedding attire.

"It's a pretty dress," Beast Boy said offhandedly after a minute of awkward silence, not even looking directly at her as he spoke. "It looks really… nice on you."

"I've never seen you in a tuxedo before," Raven mused aloud. "I suppose you look… nice too."

Beast Boy smiled broadly. "You know, that's the first thing resembling a compliment that you've paid me in a long time."

"You're welcome," Raven shrugged. "I should go. I need to meditate."

The changeling looked wounded. "You're just going to leave me here alone? On our wedding night?"

Raven couldn't decide if he was being sarcastic or not. "Come on, Beast Boy," she sighed. "You knew this was coming."

"Aren't we at least going to talk about what happened when we… kissed?" He blushed, apparently at the memory of their kiss at the altar that evening.

The empath looked at her lap. "I don't know what happened. Your guess is as good as mine."

"It was really, really weird," Beast Boy said thoughtfully, "Like something… moving, then… God, I don't even know how to explain it, but it scared the crud out of me."

"And that's why I need to meditate," Raven said. "So I can hopefully find some answers."

"Raven," Beast Boy begged, "Don't you have a hunch at least? You're the empath."

"The powerless empath," she sighed.

"They haven't come back yet, then?" Beast Boy asked quietly.

Raven shook her head.

"Are you scared?"

"No reason to be," she replied evenly. "I've done everything asked of me in accordance with Azarathian law."

"Then why haven't they returned?"

Raven shook her head slowly. "One of the mystical qualities of all things Azarathian," she said, "You never can understand them completely."

"That's for sure," Beast Boy agreed. "So, you don't have a clue what happened?"

The dark girl turned to him thoughtfully. "You really want to know? Even with the possibility that I could be completely wrong?"

"Definitely, yeah."

Raven nodded and bit her lip. "When we… kissed, I felt the same feeling of movement that you spoke of. I felt my soul-self – the same thing I use sometimes during battle to destroy things I could never otherwise reach – lifting. Then it… well, it combined with yours and broke apart again–"

"But not the same way, right?" Beast Boy guessed.

Raven bowed her head. "I'm afraid not, Beast Boy."

"Hang on… you think our souls split?" the changeling said in disbelief, mind whirling to try to comprehend it. "Like, I've got half of yours and you've got half of mine?"

The empath nodded.

"That's wicked awesome," Beast Boy said, a devilish grin on his face.

Raven glared at him sharply. "That isn't exactly how I would explain it, myself."

"So, what? This is what it's gunna be like for the whole time we're married?"

"I don't know. That's why I need to be alone. To look for answers."

Beast Boy appeared thoughtful for a moment, then looked sheepish. "You know," he said slowly, "All this started with a kiss. Maybe if we kissed again it would switch back."

Raven looked at him in agitation. "I'm certain that wouldn't work, you know."

"It's worth a try," Beast Boy prodded.

Raven grinned cynically. "Are you that desperate for another kiss?"

"Rae, babe, this is our wedding night," he smiled, eyes twinkling playfully. "Nothing wrong with asking for a kiss."

"What was I just saying this morning about the uncontrollable course of affection?" Raven scowled.

"Oh, that's right. You did say something like that before you ran out of the infirmary."

Raven shifted uncomfortably. "Even you should understand why I left."

"Even me? Gee thanks, Rae. Let's see…" he pretended to think deeply, "Nope, I still don't get it. I try to be nice, tell you what I know you want to hear, and you rush out like I morphed into Trigon anyway."

"Cool down, or I assure you that you won't get that kiss."

Beast Boy stopped dead in his tracks. "You're actually considering it?"

Raven shrugged. "If it will shut you up. You did raise a good point about this being our wedding night, and I do hate to _completely_ snub you. Besides, you are being… relatively understanding given the situation, so I do owe you thanks for that."

Beast Boy grinned and stood, bidding Raven to do the same. "Yeah, you do owe me," he replied, snaking an arm around her waist when she rose.

Raven tilted her head down, hopeful that he wouldn't be able to see her swallowing heavily in response to his warming touch.

"Rae," he said softly, gently, and she looked up at him. "I meant what I said in my vow. I want to be the one you come to for everything. I want to be the best husband I can."

She knew it was a mistake to allow their gazes to lock, but once she did, she couldn't pull hers away. His eyes had the same strange deepness as when they had been together before the altar. Before she could completely register what was taking place, he had leaned forward, using his arm around her waist to pull her closer, and their lips met again. And for the second time that day, Raven found her mind going blank as the changeling's soft, warm lips pressed against hers.

Raven immediately felt a bizarrely giddy feeling tingle up her spine, as the musky scent of the changeling clouded over her. She could feel that stirring feeling deep inside her again, a warm, euphoric aura that just made her feel that this was _right_. Raven brought a hand to his shoulder, subconsciously splaying it across the back of his neck to deepen what was supposed to be a simple, chaste kiss.

Regardless of that strangely delicious feeling that the kiss brought, Raven broke apart from him after a few moments, retracting her hand and trying to pull away. Beast Boy's arm kept her near him, however. Her stunned gaze met his again, and upon his face was the most innocent, amazed look she had seen on him in a very long time.

"Did you feel…?" he began breathlessly.

Raven brought her hand to where his was latched at her waist, and she carefully tugged herself free of it. Beast Boy withdrew his arm and took a step back from Raven, blushing quite a bit.

"I sure felt something," she admitted. "I… need to meditate."

"Huh? Oh, fine," Beast Boy replied, shaking his head as if to clear his senses.

A hint of a smirk found itself to Raven's face. "What, you look like you've never kissed before."

"My first time was this evening at the altar."

Raven's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I just supposed that with Terra you might have…"

"Terra and I were never," Beast Boy struggled to find the right words. "Well, lets just say we didn't have a chance to… ah, be more than we were, I guess. If I knew we had as little time as we did, I might've…"

Raven shook her head. "I didn't know," she said.

"Well, how about you and book boy?" Beast Boy inquired.

Raven couldn't help but scoff. "Malchior? I'm just as virginal as you are, apparently," she admitted.

Beast Boy grinned. "Well good," he said. "We're right for each other then."

The empath couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I think that champagne has gone to your head, Beast Boy. I'm going to bed."

"Do I get a goodnight kiss?"

"You just got it," Raven replied, and her warning look told the changeling not to ask again. "You should get to bed too. You look pretty bad. Besides, I have a feeling that the rest of our team isn't going to be quite as respectful of our space as they would have us believe. It might give them the wrong idea if we're in here too long."

"Of course," Beast Boy sighed. "Hey, are we still roomies? You haven't gotten your powers back yet, and you would have them if the curse was gone, right? What if you have another attack for some reason?"

"You think I want to risk getting caught by one of them in the hall while sneaking to your bedroom?" Raven smirked.

"Your room then?" Beast Boy asked. "They'll never spot a fly in the hallways." He grinned at her. "I'll even bring my own sleeping bag."

Raven hesitated for a minute. "You swear not to make a habit of it?"

"I swear."

"And you swear not to ask for another kiss?"

"For tonight, if it means that much to you, I swear," Beast Boy replied gallantly.

"Then alright," Raven consented.

"Really?" Beast Boy said in disbelief, a smile suddenly lighting up his face.

"Sure. But if you try anything funny, you're mincemeat, lover boy."

"A risk I'm willing to take," Beast Boy chuckled happily, "Any day."

--

**A.N.** Well, I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. I even got it up relatively quickly, thank you very much. There's still much fun ahead, I promise. I know this chapter was a little long. I'll try to cut them down a little more in the future.

If you have questions, comments, ideas, or anything else you feel like sending my way, don't forget to leave me a review and make my day.

Thank you for reading.


	11. Stumbling Block

**A.N. **I want to thank everyone who read the last chapter, and especially everyone who took the time to leave a review. It seems like the general consensus is that longer chapters are more appreciated, so I'll take that into account in the future. I suppose it's only fair to make the chapters a little on the lengthy side if I make you wait so long between updates, eh?

Chapter eleven of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Stumbling Block"

The villain drummed his fingers anxiously on the armrest of his chair, desirous to move along his plan and get this quick predawn meeting over with. His accomplice should have been there several minutes ago, but he was, once again, disappointingly tardy.

The underground room that currently hid him was dark and dismal as always, shadows cast by the few working light bulbs playing heavily over every surface. He had to clench his hands into fists to keep his restlessness at bay as he waited in the quiet room.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard the heavy shuffle of his visitor once again. He set his teeth as the man walked unabashedly into the dimly lit room he occupied, producing a vial from his pants pocket and shaking it triumphantly as he neared.

"I got the stuff," the visitor announced with a sickeningly self-important air. "Just like ya wanted."

"Good," the first man replied darkly. "I'll admit I had my doubts." He held out his hand. His guest remained rooted to the spot for a moment, dull face doing nothing to mask his inner conflict. Although obviously reluctant to surrender his spoils of war to the man before him, the guest finally stepped forward and hesitantly placed the vial resolutely in the man's outstretched hand.

"Now we can put the next step of my plan into action," the first criminal said in satisfaction, while carefully, almost reverently tipping the vial from side to side and watching the carefully preserved blood slosh against the sides of the sealed glass tube. His own blood pounded with excitement. He could already taste the success of his entire operation. This vial, filled with the helpless lifeblood of that worthless Titan, reinforced his assurance of the complete mortality of his foe.

"I still don't see why we're going through all this trouble," the guest muttered, restating his opinion on the tired old argument. Parting with his vial, his prize, had obviously brought back his usual grumbling attitude. "You said we gotta get rid of one of the Titans. I don't see why I couldn't just take the green one down my way. Forget the blood, I should've just finished pounding the little idiot. God knows I could'a finished him off easy," he said with a very cocky, feverish grin.

The first man regarded his visitor's feral expression condescendingly. While it was easier to choose a dunce like this one as his partner, it was nearly unbearable to forever entertain his pathetic lack of appreciation for a well thought out plan. Well, what more could one expect from someone so accustomed to using brute force in lieu of tact?

"Just having one of their teammates bite the dust during a battle isn't gunna cut it," the host finally replied with a lofty sort of deviousness. "It'll hurt 'em bad, but it won't tear at them till they can't stand it no more. No, I hate those righteous little devils way too much to give 'em anything but the best." He spat on the floor forcefully and twirled the vial in his hand with a crazed expression of anticipation, as if he could hardly bear waiting any longer for his plan to proceed.

"Uh, those kids've gotten me chucked into the slammer more times than I can count," the visitor said warily. "And I hate how those perfect little do-gooders always gotta win, but what happened to you to make you wanna… crush 'em like this?"

The first man looked pensive for the briefest moment, obviously contemplating how much he should divulge to his temporary partner in crime.

"Let's just say I've got a little more in common with that Beast Boy than you'd think," he finally ground out, "And nothing will make me happier than to destroy him first and finally show his pathetic friends who really is the strongest."

"So you've got a grudge," the second man said slowly, a thickheaded smile of satisfaction growing on his face at his astute revelation.

"You don't know the half of it," the other man replied with a growl.

"So what now?"

"Now," the first man said, holding up and gently shaking the vial of Beast Boy's blood, "I ship this off to a guy in Star Labs who owes me a little favor."

"And what's gunna happen then?"

The first man's face was suddenly marred with a snarl of exasperation.

"Look, the less you know the better. I'm keepin' my end of the bargain, and you'll get your reward."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" the second man asked, his voice a sickening whine.

"Go play with your goddamn steel," the other replied. "You earned it, all six hundred pounds. Build something big. Something that could keep all the Titans occupied for a while. The bigger the better. I can arrange to get you more junk to build with if you need, so long as it pays off."

"When do I gotta have it finished by?" the second man asked suspiciously, but an eager expression of greed for the promised supplies shined through his wariness. "It takes a long time to build my robots."

"You've got a week," the first man said firmly. "And you better have it done by then," he added dangerously. "The guy who's, ah, _volunteered_ his services over at Star Labs has been sufficiently motivated to finish within that time too."

"You're not gunna tell me what he's doing?" the visitor asked disappointedly. The first man rolled his narrowed eyes and huffed in response.

"If you get your machine together on time and the plan goes along smoothly, you'll get your information when you need it." He continued before his guest could reply. "Now go start on that robot. I can promise you that I won't take any excuses for anything but the best."

There was something about the dangerous gleam in the first man's eyes that took away the second man's desire to protest completely. He nodded and turned quickly, lumbering for the door, his otherwise slow mind furiously working over the project he had been commissioned to hastily complete. He shuddered at the thought of not coming through for the man who had roped him into this. He quickly made up his mind not to get in the way of his colleague's dead set hatred against that unlucky troop of kids, and to just do what he was told. After all, he was in this for the reward: spoils, prestige, and a jump to the top of the criminal food chain in this damned city, once those brats got what had been coming to them for so long. There was no reason to feel ashamed for what he had gotten himself into. He just kinda wished that they weren't, ya know, kids.

TT

Raven was still feeling distraught when she awoke from another long night of subpar sleep. The rest must have sufficiently cleared her head and strengthened her resolve though, because she knew that she could no longer put off traveling into her mind again for some introspective answer seeking. Heck, whatever she might discover couldn't be as bad as sitting here like this, assuming the worst and making herself sick with distress.

Holding onto that semi-comforting thought, Raven soon shook herself awake, fixed herself up, and settled into meditation in front of her window, intent on finally discovering answers to questions that she had put off from the day before. Ignoring her slumbering new husband on the floor behind her, she carefully controlled her breathing and her mantra flowed quietly from her lips, and slowly she was able to fall into her mind.

However, the sight that greeted her as she opened her eyes into her mind made her mouth hang open in shock. She was almost certain that she had gotten off at the wrong stop or something, because this _wasn't_ Nevermore. Feeling quite shaken, she was just about to attempt returning to her bedroom when Happy came running in her direction, laughing in glee.

"Happy!" Raven hailed down her giddy emotion as the pink-clad girl ran by. Happy did not slow down, but turned and ran right into Raven, giving her a gigantic bear hug that almost sent them both to the ground.

"Raven!" she exclaimed in surprise, as if she hadn't seen the empath in years, "You're here, and isn't life just fantastic?"

Mouth set in irritation, Raven carefully pried off her ecstatic emotion and took a few steps backward to put a healthy amount of distance between the two of them.

"Where is Knowledge?" Raven asked, ignoring Happy's jubilant words completely.

"Who cares?" Happy replied, unfazed by Raven's attitude. "All broody Miss Books-For-Brains does all day is read. Come on, do something fun with me instead! We could make daisy chains, or braid each other's hair, or play capture the flag, or talk about your dreamboat husband and what a cutie pie he is–"

"I swear, Happy -- wait, _dreamboat_?" Raven made a disgusted noise and shook her head. "I need to talk to Knowledge," she insisted through gritted teeth. "Now."

Happy blinked at Raven and frowned. "But she's all… _boring_," she whispered, wrinkling her nose.

"At least she's _sane_."

"Aw, you don't mean that, Ravie! Come on, why not talk to me instead?" Happy beamed. "We could talk about how funny Beast Boy is, or how gorgeous he is when he smiles at you with those adorable pointy fangs, or how cute he looks in a tuxedo, or how he kissed you – on the lips – twice!" The emotion swooned and clapped a hand over her heart.

A vein throbbing prominently in her forehead, Raven came extremely close to snapping back with something she probably would have regretted saying in the future, when a thin hand closed over her tense shoulder. She turned around in surprise, her harsh words dying on her lips.

"You called?" Knowledge asked, a wise smile flickering at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh pooh, does this mean we're not going to have any fun?" Happy said, her lower lip turning down in a pout.

"Absolutely none," Raven replied, waving off the pink-cloaked girl.

"Raven and I need to talk, Happy," Knowledge said. "Why don't you go play tag with Rude and Affection? Maybe when the two of us are done we'll join you."

Happy's face broke into a wide grin again. "Alright-y. See you around, Ravie!" With that the jubilant girl skipped away, leaving Raven and her much preferred emotion alone.

"To what do I owe the visit?" Raven asked. "I usually have to go searching for you if I want to speak with you."

Knowledge smiled again. "I had to offer my congratulations on your marriage and avoidance of untimely death, of course," she replied, "And I also figured that you might have a bit of trouble finding me, due to, ah, certain recent landscape modifications." Knowledge made a sweeping motion with her hand, as if to draw Raven's attention to the environment around them. Raven obediently looked around, even though she had certainly already made note of what Knowledge was referencing.

Just as she had noticed with great shock as she had arrived in Nevermore, the once black and red sky had turned to clear blue, and little fluffy clouds drifted lazily across the great expanse. Green grass and flowers had begun to sprout from the dark, rocky ground in little patches, and some of the withered trees around them had begun to bud. The once bleak, sinister land had suddenly come into springtime, which Raven did _not_ appreciate.

"What happened to my mind?" Raven moaned, obviously distressed.

"I'll give you three guesses."

Raven shook her head, barely needing to stop and think. "It's his fault," she said cholerically, temper rising as she took in all that had changed. She bent down and picked a tiny, sunny yellow flower from what had been –– and what was supposed to be –– hard, dry ground. She dropped the flower soon after picking it and watched it flutter to the dusty ground, where its warm animation was juxtaposed painfully with the coarse, gray soil. Raven looked back up at her wise emotion. "Tell me," she implored in vexation, "Is all of Nevermore like this now?"

Knowledge nodded somberly. "I'm afraid so," she replied. "Every region has taken on similar new attributes."

"Dare I ask why?"

"You already guessed correctly," the emotion responded. "Every change you have witnessed, every new feature of the biome around us, all of it is a result of the bond that now links yourself to Beast Boy. And the change has only just begun."

TT

Beast Boy awoke to a clear blue sky with the most content feeling that he had experienced in a long, long time filling his body. It was amazing what a really good night of sleep could do for you, especially after so many stressful days and nights. He recognized his surroundings as the same he had looked upon last before falling into a deep sleep the night before. He was in Raven's bedroom, on the floor near the foot of her bed, tangled in a now messy pile of sheets and pillows. He had to grin when he recognized his comfortable blankets as the purple and green striped ones that Cyborg had bestowed upon them the day before.

Despite his odd sleeping arrangement, however, the changeling felt remarkably well rested. He hefted himself into a sitting position and stretched luxuriously, groaning as the tightness in his muscles seemed to melt away. He jumped up and fixed his skewed pajamas, looking around for Raven. He spotted her over by her window, meditating in the lotus position on the floor. For a moment he simply looked at her, and it felt like he was truly seeing her for the first time, however corny that might seem. He had never noticed before how the golden sunlight glanced off her hair like that in the morning, or what elegant poise she held herself with, even when relaxed in meditation. She was always quick to discount any compliments sent her way concerning her appearance, however seldom they came in the first place, but finally looking at her like this, he saw that she really was beautiful. And, more importantly, she was _his_.

Beast Boy blinked, and his brow furrowed slightly. He seriously doubted that Raven would want him thinking about her like that, and by his own admission it was a little bit strange, but he could not deny that he would see her differently now that they were married. He would always remember what he had sworn to her the day before. His fingers found his wedding ring, and he twisted it absently. They had even kissed. Twice! The first time was an obligation, but the second was of her own will. He couldn't help the dopey grin that made its way to his face when he remembered that second kiss, and God, he never wanted to forget it either. That inexplicably fuzzy feeling of rightness and belonging was more addictive than anything he had experienced before, and he couldn't help but wonder if kissing brought such a feeling to everyone.

The changeling's growling stomach was what finally took him from his thoughts. He glanced over at Raven's bedside clock and found that it was just after ten in the morning. He had a serious craving for a big stack of soy pancakes, but decided to ignore his hunger and wait for Raven to finish up so they could eat together. After all, it wasn't like he had anything better to do that day.

Gaze not leaving his new wife, Beast Boy sat down on her bed and scooted up by her pillows. He crossed his arms over his stomach and his eyes drifted shut. Gosh, her bed was a whole lot more comfortable than her floor, and if he was going to wait for her to finish meditating, he should at least be comfortable. That was the last thought that flickered through his head before he easily fell into a light sleep.

His acute hearing awoke him thirty minutes later. Raven's cloak rustled slightly as she came out of meditation, and the first thing she did was bring a palm to her forehead and squeeze her eyes shut.

Shaking off the throes of sleep for the second time that morning, Beast Boy slid up on one elbow, turning to look at Raven. Her mattress squeaked with his movement.

"Good morning, Rae," he said quietly. "Happy birthday."

The empath visibly stiffened, and her hand dropped to her lap again. She turned her head and looked at Beast Boy.

"Good morning," she replied curtly. "I would appreciate it if you got off my bed."

Beast Boy blinked. "Oh," he said, eyes slightly downcast. A grin spread across his face. "What," he teased, "You afraid I'll get cooties on it?"

Raven didn't directly reply to Beast Boy's remark, but stood carefully and made for her door.

"Have you eaten?" she asked distractedly.

"I was waiting for you, actually."

"Well come on," she replied with a pained sigh, "We need to… discuss some things."

TT

You're not thinking of bailing on me, are you?" the villain growled at the cowering man before him. It really was a pitiable sight; the tall criminal towered over the very old, very frightened scientist, who shook in his bleached lab coat and stared miserably at the gray linoleum tiles on the floor. The vial of Beast Boy's blood was clenched tightly in the old man's trembling fist.

"No," the white-haired scientist wheezed, "But this project you need me to accomplish, it utilizes a method that is still in its experimental stages. Why, its potential for success is little more than theory."

"For your own sake it better work," the villain ground out menacingly. "You have one week." The scientist made a distraught noise at this and looked imploringly at the man before him.

"Please," he begged, clasping his thin, shaking hands around the vial, "I need more time than that! Think of all my other research! I cannot shelf all of my work for an entire week. I will surely be investigated for my negligence, and I may still fail in the task you have forced upon me! I beg you to consider my petition rationally, and give me a more realistic task to accomplish, or at the very least give me more ti–"

The man's pleading words were silenced when the villain uttered a frustrated cry and struck him harshly across the face, sending the scientist careening into the wall behind him. He crumpled to the floor with a choked sob and made no effort to stand. The bookcase that he had crashed into swayed dangerously over his head from the impact. Luckily nothing fell but a few books and a DNA double helix model. The vial fell from the stunned man's slackened grip, hitting the floor with a gentle clink but not breaking open. It rolled to a stop against the scientist's arm.

"You have one week," the villain spat, enunciating every word with cruel deliberation. "And you better not disappoint me, or your little ol' wife just might not find her way back home tonight. And if you even thought about telling anyone about this, your entire family might just," he waved his hand flippantly, "_disappear_." He erupted with peals of sadistic laughter as a stream of pleading words flowed from the scientist's mouth, but he turned smartly and stalked from the room without paying the defeated man any heed, exiting triumphantly through the same slightly smoldering hole in the wall that he had blown open just minutes ago.

TT

"So, are you gunna tell me what you wanted to talk about, or are you just gunna watch me stuff my face with pancakes?" Beast Boy asked, in the process of drenching his second piping hot serving of hotcakes in syrup. Beast Boy and Raven were alone in the sunny kitchen, and although they had gone to share breakfast, the empath had refused to eat anything of substance, claiming simply that she wasn't hungry. In the kitchen they had discovered an envelope leaning against Raven's teapot, with her name written across it in red ink. It was a birthday card that played "Happy Birthday" when one opened it, and inside was a simple note of well wishes, signed by Raven's four teammates. Several large bills fluttered to the floor as she opened the card, which she supposed was her birthday present. Frankly she appreciated the cash more than any material purchases they could have gotten her anyway. Sadly even this birthday gift was unable to lift her spirits.

Raven apathetically glanced up from her glass of water and apple. She looked out the window at the sunlight rippling over the quiet bay, briefly contemplating where she would be right now had she not married the changeling the day before. It was hard to fathom that she would actually be dead, or worse, while her teammates lived on without her.

"I went to Nevermore this morning," she said absently, eyes still wandering the Jump City skyline.

"That's cool," Beast Boy replied, shoveling half a pancake into his mouth as he spoke. "Did you learn anything interesting about the curse?"

Raven took a sip of water. "I guess you could say that," she admitted.

"Did you figure out why your powers are still gone?"

She nodded sadly. "Unfortunately I may have."

"Did you learn what happened when we kissed the first time yesterday?"

Raven frowned. "Why don't I just tell you what I found out, so you can stop with the questions?"

Beast Boy held up his hands defensively. "Fine, fine. Please do."

Raven took another sip of water before beginning, and the expression on her face suddenly reminded Beast Boy of the look someone might get when they tried to dredge up a bad memory. She closed her eyes for a moment and her hands fiddled subconsciously with the browning apple on the table before her. Finally she looked up again, changing her posture so she could lean her arms on the table as she spoke.

"Well," she began uncertainly, "When I arrived in Nevermore, it was immediately clear that something had drastically changed. This change most likely took place at the time that we kissed." She glanced up at the changeling sharply as if to discourage a response, and the words he was about to speak dutifully died on his lips. "Things looked different," she explained. "The sky was supposed to be black, but it was blue. There were clouds and the sun was shining, and there were flowers and grass. You've been there. You know what Nevermore is supposed to look like. Today it didn't look remotely normal."

"Was it definitely Nevermore?"

Raven nodded. "It just appeared a whole lot more… alive. My emotions were still there. They hadn't changed. Knowledge explained what she believed had happened."

Beast Boy had finished consuming his breakfast, and he pushed his sticky, empty plate and silverware to the side. "And what's that?" he asked quietly.

Raven looked at the table as she spoke, shoulders drooping.

"You know how it is said that marriage represents the complete union of two people? Mind, body, and soul?" she asked, voice laced with despair.

"I've heard it explained like that, yeah."

"Well, it seems like I was right when I guessed that our souls had joined," she said quietly.

Beast Boy's eyes opened wide, and he chuckled in disbelief. "Are you serious?" he asked, suddenly feeling vaguely uneasy. After all, something he could never hope to understand was tampering with his soul. What made him _him_. That definitely seemed like panic worthy material, if ever anything was.

Raven glared at him despite herself. "No, Beast Boy, I'm making this up for the hell of it," she bit. "Will you _please_ just let me speak?"

The changeling's awkward grin died down. "I'm shutting up now," he said. "Continue."

The empath took a moment to recollect her thoughts. When she began again it was with the same even tone that she had started with.

"As of yesterday evening, we were two completely separate individuals," Raven explained slowly. "I possessed and was in control of every aspect – or almost every aspect – of my own being, and the same could be said for you. That changed when the wedding ceremony ended and we kissed. All the things that we had sworn during the ceremony became reality, and we, in effect, became one. We began to unite, body, mind, and soul."

"So what you're saying is that all the changes in your mind are because of me?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes, they are."

"All the blue sky and grass and stuff, that's from me?"

Raven frowned. "I'm at a loss as to why that makes you smile, but yes."

Indeed, beyond his anxiety, Beast Boy felt a very strange sense of excitement from what Raven had told him. Something tangible had resulted from the ceremony the day before, and Raven could no longer insist that nothing had to change since they were married. She couldn't deny his importance in her life now, and that knowledge at least partly appeased his fear that she would try to completely discount the marriage. Plus, a little bit of sunshine in gloomy ol' Nevermore couldn't hurt the girl either.

"But wait, don't lose yourself in excitement yet," Raven continued miserably, taking note of the giddy look on the changeling's face. "It gets even better."

"Lemme guess," Beast Boy replied eagerly, "Am I gunna have telekinesis too now? Are we gunna share each other's thoughts?"

"No, and, thank Azar, no," Raven responded. She took a last sip from her glass of water and set it down carefully while she collected her thoughts and built up the courage to say what came next. God, if he would just sit still and take this with an ounce of maturity, the urge to go shoot herself would be far less strong. "You asked if I knew why my powers have not returned yet. From conversing with Knowledge, I'm afraid I have a theory." She willed herself to look up at him and maintain eye contact while she spoke. "Just because our minds became linked when we kissed does not mean that we've become completely joined."

Beast Boy raised his eyebrows. "I don't get it. I've apparently got half of your soul. How much more linked can we get?"

"The soul and the mind are entirely different things, Beast Boy. You cannot alter or control your soul. When I use my soul-self as a weapon during battle, that is the only time I command mine. Without our conscious consent, our souls have mixed, and that is the concrete, indelible bond that has been created between us."

"Oh," Beast Boy replied in a subdued tone. The expression on his face made it clear that his brain was working furiously to understand her words. "Like the bond you have with Robin?"

Raven shook her head. "As Robin would say, I've been in his head. His mind is linked with my own now, that's true, but only on the most superficial level, and our souls are completely separate. The link between his mind and mine was created solely by myself, and I'm sure that you remember it was a terrible situation and a last ditch effort that led me to create that link in the first place."

"So why is the bond between our minds any different from the one you have with Robin?"

"Our minds would not be able to link as they uniquely have if our souls had not first joined. I did not actively seek out your mind, not like I could have without my powers anyway. Our minds began to automatically meld when we kissed, because our souls had first been joined. And because the bond between our minds is based around our souls, it is stronger than any link I could create by myself with another person's mind."

Beast Boy put a hand on his forehead. "Trying to wrap my head around that is giving me a headache," he complained absently. He sure as hell couldn't comprehend exactly what she was telling him, but he got the gist of it, and he probably couldn't hope for more than that.

"Well I hope you understand, because I do not feel like explaining that again."

Beast Boy offered her a feeble, apologetic smile. "I think I get it. Kinda. Uh, you said that our minds haven't completely joined yet?"

Raven quickly cast her gaze heavenward. "No, they haven't. The basic link has been made, but that link would need to be strengthened in order for the individuality that still separates us to be worn away. My powers may not come back until our bond has been strengthened to the point that I have truly done all in my power to join you in marriage. Then the curse will be, I hope, satisfied."

"Great. So how do we strengthen the link thing?"

Before she replied, Raven solemnly caught the gaze of Beast Boy again, hoping beyond hope that he would show an ounce of maturity.

"Through total communion," she replied gently.

Beast Boy studied her face carefully as he mulled about her response. Slowly, taking what felt like ages to the distressed empath sitting across from him, his expression changed as comprehension finally bloomed in his mind, until he was regarding her with wariness and awe.

"What do you mean by total?" he asked, suspicion in his hushed voice.

Raven quirked an eyebrow. "Complete. Perfect. Consummate," she replied. The seconds seemed to stretch on in painful silence as she watched his face for a sign that he understood.

"You mean," he breathed in wonderment, "The only way to strengthen the link between our minds is… sex?" He startled to laugh. He couldn't help himself; the absurdity of the situation was almost overwhelming. Normalcy was so far gone that what could he do but laugh?

"That would fully satisfy one third of the 'body, mind, and soul' dictum," Raven replied, ignoring his chuckling. "The physical aspect. And based on what Knowledge said, the physical connection of kissing alone affected my mind as well. Honestly, I don't know what it will take to become completely linked on all three counts, but I'm not about to assume that sex is the only way."

Beast Boy's posture visibly changed. His laughter subsided and he appeared to relax. His hands, which had balled subconsciously into fists, spread out on the tabletop again. He almost appeared lost in thought for a minute, and Raven allowed him to reflect in silence while she tried desperately to erect her perfect wall of poise that had somehow crumbled.

"That totally makes sense," Beast Boy said resignedly, "That's why it feels the way it does to kiss."

"You're right," Raven agreed quietly. "But a kiss is far less intimate than having sex, and similarly it must have much less of an effect on the link between our minds."

"So, logically the quickest way to strengthen our link and possibly regain your powers would be…" Beast Boy trailed off, the color rising in his face for the first time that morning.

Raven nodded almost imperceptibly, well on the road to not caring if Azar damned her soul to hell if it would just get her out of the conversation she was in.

"But it's not the only way?" Beast Boy inquired ingenuously.

"Like I said, I don't think it is," Raven replied, "Sleeping together would be the most effective way, but every other type of contact, to the best of my knowledge, would logically yield a lesser form of the same union."

"So, what now?"

"Now I start figuring out how I'm going to live permanently without my powers."

Beast Boy looked at Raven suspiciously. "Are you serious?" he inquired.

Raven offered a dry smirk. "I don't know, Beast Boy. I'm already scarred by this whole situation. I miss my powers, but I have to draw the line somewhere."

The changeling shrugged. "Kissing wasn't bad," he defended. "You can't argue about that."

Raven looked at him strangely. "I take it you vote in favor of trying to help me regain my powers?"

"Absolutely, Rae. You're my wife."

The empath smiled faintly. "I appreciate your willingness, I suppose."

"Anything for the birthday girl," Beast Boy offered with a little shrug. "Are you sure this is going to get your powers back?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore. Especially since we aren't utilizing the most direct method of achieving communion."

"Any clue how long it will take?"

Raven closed her eyes and leaned her head on her palms. "Days, weeks, years –– it's impossible to predict how much we would have to exercise our bond to sufficiently strengthen it, considering the fact that we're not going about it in the way intended. The curse was designed in order to continue on the population of Azarath. Demanding complete physical communion of two people would accomplish that goal. Azar, it's just so _obvious_ now that something like this would happen," she scoffed, shaking her head bitterly. "The awkwardness of marriage couldn't possibly be enough of a burden to bear, so let's add mandatory procreation to the equation."

"So basically," Beast Boy spoke up quickly, sensing that Raven was fighting desperately to suppress her mounting distress from his sight, "Anything but sex is a workaround." Raven nodded curtly. "What happened to Azarathian law being so airtight?" he wondered aloud. "If it was intended that we sleep together, why would there be a loophole avoiding it?"

The clock clicked over to noon, and in the distance Raven could just barely hear the clock tower in the city's old church chiming out the new hour. She glanced over to the door. "There needs to be one," she finally replied in misery, "Or I will never regain my powers. I'm sorry." With that she stood quickly, leaving the remainder of her breakfast behind on the table as she made for the door.

Beast Boy rose when she did, quickly following after her and laying a hand on her shoulder. Raven shrugged it off and continued walking.

"Raven, stop," Beast Boy called to her, but she did not. "Raven! Please don't just run away again. We can figure something out, I swear."

The dark girl finally turned around briefly when she reached the door, and Beast Boy was shocked to see her face so blank.

"I don't love you, Beast Boy," she said plainly, but the ache in her voice was almost unbearable for the changeling. "I don't think I ever will. Don't ask me to do something I don't want to."

With that Raven stepped quickly from the room, leaving Beast Boy standing alone, completely stunned, in the middle of the kitchen. Once she was gone he let go of his breath in a disbelieving whoosh, the distinctive and horribly familiar feeling of rejection making the air feel heavy and unbreathable around him. Something inside him sank numbly to the pit of his stomach as a throbbing ache jumped to his throat. He shook his head hard. Raven's words shouldn't have come as a surprise to him. God, how pathetic was he to hope that she would do anything else? And still he couldn't tear his eyes from the door, as if he was hoping beyond hope that Raven would return and apologize, or tell him something, anything, to break the wretched feeling of hopelessness she had just inflicted upon him. But of course, she did not return, and Beast Boy was left alone again to wonder if things would ever start to look up between himself and Raven, or if this was already the end.

--

Ooh, drama. I hope that I didn't lose everyone while attempting to explain that body, mind, and soul thing. Please tell me if I did, and I'll be sure to explain it more lucidly in my next author's note.

Also, a few reviewers now have asked if this story will eventually contain a lemon. I've been tossing that idea around in my brain for a while, and while I'm not sure that I want to steer the fic in that direction anyway, I'm curious to know what you guys think. To get a general idea, I've set up a poll in my profile asking whether or not you would like to see a lemon/lime before the story ends. If you vote and would like to explain why you voted thusly, feel free to send me your thoughts in a review. Don't forget that anything seriously pushing the classification of "fluffy" will bump this fic up from Teen to Mature. While I might end up going against the masses anyway, I'd definitely like to see if I'm on the same wavelength as my beloved readers.

Don't forget to vote in my profile poll if you care, and thanks for reading.


	12. Revelations

**A.N.** Ahem. Um, hey everybody. I know, I know. It has been months since my last update, and I apologize. Wow, has it really been over three months? Time flies when you're crashing through junior year. However, either my email notifications aren't working properly, or not many people are updating their stories much either. Darn real life commitments and their ability to sap time from doing more important things. (Grumble grumble)

Anyway, regarding my profile poll, it seems that the overwhelming majority of you are in favor of this fic following a more mature path than I had originally intended. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to review or PM me regarding how they voted and why. Based on the response I received, I'm leaning towards making a oneshot/offshoot out of any explicit material, so that I don't alienate my less gung-ho readership. But don't worry about that just yet. I'll be sure to warn you in advance if there's anything blush-worthy coming up.

For now, just sit back and enjoy the special Thanksgiving installment of everyone's favorite story.

Chapter twelve of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Revelations"

Beast Boy was at a profound loss. As Raven disappeared for the sanctuary of her room, he stayed behind in the kitchen, a feeling of numb bewilderment freezing over his body. The nightmarish tirade that Raven had just thrown upon him had hit its mark.

Mind on autopilot, he took several deep breaths, dazedly gathered up the breakfast dishes, and brought them to the sink to be washed. His hands shook as he rested the plates inside the sink, so he balled them into fists at his sides as he made his way to his bedroom. Somehow the wedding gifts from the reception had ended up there, and the changeling spent some time perched on his bed, flipping disinterestedly through a few of the comic books he had received. However, the pages before him might as well have been written in Ancient Hebrew, considering how little he got out of them. Even more irritating, his gaze kept shifting up from the pages and towards his window. Beast Boy didn't know how many times he caught himself staring into space during that single futile attempt to read, but his sudden inability to focus was becoming quite aggravating.

"I need something to do," he muttered to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was to stay unoccupied like this, because he knew that he would just end up brooding over Raven. God, he _didn't_ want to do that. He didn't know what to feel. He supposed he ought to be angry – probably furious – that Raven was treating him like this, but he just… wasn't. A random factoid sprung to mind, about how the human body blocks out pain when it becomes too overpowering to bear. He felt desensitized and it almost worried him, but it wasn't hard to decide that he'd rather feel nothing than experience the inevitable pain from the total rejection of someone he had given so much to save. The full realization of Raven's words would soon set in, he was sure. He was still in shock, he supposed, but shock seemed far better than what he feared was to come. Raven had destroyed the delicate illusion of hope that he had allowed himself to rest upon, even for the briefest of moments. He had made himself vulnerable. In return, she relented an inch and then leapt back a mile, leaving him utterly ostracized.

A throat-constricting ache gripped Beast Boy again as his mind drifted listlessly, pointlessly to Terra, another who had instilled this same feeling of defeat in him not so long ago. Was Raven doing nothing more than repeating history by leaving him alone to be tortured with the grief of unbearable isolation? Was he again just destroying himself by holding onto hope?

No, it _couldn't_ be! Raven was his wife… and his _friend_ at least, right? She would come around, right? That grain of hope seemed to hang tauntingly a million miles above him.

The correlation between Raven and Terra, however trifling, threatened to set off the explosion of memories that danced around the edges of his mind. The emotions he had so long suffered with when Terra betrayed him – the debilitating anger, anguish, and depression – were clawing their way back into his consciousness. Perhaps the true magnitude of sorrow over Raven had not yet set in, but the torturous feelings he would forever associate with Terra were never too far from reach to be called up during such a morbid time as this, serving only to compound his misery exponentially.

Beast Boy felt the backs of his eyes prickling with suppressed despair and he leapt to his feet. He didn't want to think about what had happened. He didn't want to accept it. He just wanted to convince himself that Raven was speaking irrationally in the heat of the moment, and that all that stuff she said about never loving him or wanting to be with him wasn't true. He really, really wanted to forget all about it. And most of all, he wanted to stop seeing Terra's face as Raven's words echoed through his head.

Gripped by desperation to forget his dismal state, Beast Boy stumbled from his room and down to the common room, where he landed on the couch. However, the usual comfort of the familiar place failed him. He couldn't even work up the will to pick up a video game or a magazine with which to waste his time. His eyes kept returning to the windows, where he stared vacuously at the bay below until his brain refused to remain dormant any longer.

With a sound of exasperation he hurriedly pulled his communicator from his pocket, flipped it open and called Robin. He exhaled deeply and his chin sunk down to his chest as he waited for Robin to answer his call. He waited a few long moments, but wasn't surprised when Robin did not respond. Beast Boy depressed the talk button and tried again.

"Beast Boy to Robin," he said in slight agitation. No reply. "C'mon dude! I know you never turn off your communicator, so stop pretending you're not there." A beat. Still nothing. "Robin, for the love of God, I swear I'll go throw all your birdarangs into the bay again if you don't answer me _right now_." A short, indecisive pause. Then the screen flashed to life, and Robin's perturbed visage appeared on the changeling's communicator. Beast Boy grinned in spite of himself.

"Beast Boy, you're not supposed to be using your communicator unless there's an emergency. You're on _vacation_. So go. Have. Fun," the changeling's leader tersely replied.

Beast Boy chuckled mirthlessly.

"Believe me, I am," he sighed, and shook his head in exasperation. "Actually, Rob, I'm more convinced than ever that Raven hates my guts. What was I thinking, tricking myself into believing that she'd actually act civilly towards me after I threw my future to hell and married her?" He could have sworn that he saw the corners of Robin's mouth twitch upward, but his leader's voice was impassive as usual.

"It's not going well, I take it?"

"Dude! I'm trapped in the Tower alone with a girl who wouldn't touch me with a fifteen-foot pole if you gave her a million dollars. How do you _think_ it's going?"

"Yes, well, you're already starting to sound like quite a few married guys I know. So if that's all—"

"Don't you dare hang up, Robin!" Beast Boy demanded in panic, "I'm having a crisis here!"

"It sounds like, as usual, you need to go talk to Raven. I can't help you, Beast Boy."

"I can't go talk to her! You don't get it!"

"You're right, I don't," Robin agreed with a nod. "And you understand the terms of your honeymoon, so I think I'll be going—"

"Dude, stop! This is _definitely_ an emergency."

Robin didn't reply for a moment, and Beast Boy could practically see the exasperation building behind his leader's mask.

"Is Titans Tower still standing?" Robin asked blandly.

"Well, yeah," Beast Boy replied with slight reluctance.

"And both you and Raven are safely inside said standing Tower?"

"… Well, yeah."

"Then I don't see what the emergency is, Beast Boy," Robin concluded. "And if nothing's wrong, I'm kind of busy, so—"

"No, wait!" Beast Boy exclaimed, talking rapidly in case Robin were actually to hang up on him. "Dude, _please_ put me back on duty. I can't take a whole week of this. I need to be doing something, anything, just to get my mind off of things."

"You're supposed to be enjoying yourself, Beast Boy, or at least resting up. It was a team decision to grant both you and Raven temporary leave, and the conditions of your furlough are nonnegotiable."

Gosh, Robin made the situation seem so clinical that it was almost funny. Beast Boy probably would have found his leader's graveness humorous too, had the circumstances been different.

"Yeah, but Raven… well, she kinda made it clear that she doesn't want me around," Beast Boy replied lamely.

"And this makes your current situation unique because?" Robin asked with a sigh.

"Because I thought things would be different!" Beast Boy exclaimed vehemently. "I mean, she was acting… nice yesterday."

"I see. You didn't forget her birthday, did you?"

"Of course not! Even _I'm_ not that absentminded."

Robin paused and briefly looked up from his communicator.

"I don't know what to tell you, Beast Boy," he finally admitted with a sigh. "I'd like to say that Raven might come around, but when her mind's made up – if it really, really is – you probably won't be able to change it."

"Come on, I already knew that," Beast Boy said in frustration. "Can't you come out with some fortune cookie proverb of relationship advice?"

Robin's eyebrows knit together.

"You and Raven are pretty much on your own for the time being," he responded. "Just make an effort to give her the space she needs to avoid a second Apocalypse, alright?"

"All I _ever_ give her is space," the changeling exclaimed. "Why can't she just appreciate that?"

"Don't ask me, ask her."

"What kind of leader are you? Do you _want_ me to die? Look, neither of us appreciate you marooning us at the Tower, and I'm sure that both of us would be happy if you put me back on duty this week."

"Have Raven's powers returned yet?" Robin asked, obviously ignoring Beast Boy's petition.

"Um, not yet."

Robin's face darkened considerably.

"That's not good," he remarked, obviously disquieted. "That was the entire reason behind this… endeavor. Does she know why?"

"… No?"

Robin's frown deepened.

"She must at least have _some_ idea."

Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, just a stab in the dark, she was kinda figuring that since our souls split and all—"

"Your WHAT?" Robin exclaimed, nearly dropping his communicator.

"Yeah, and there's the tiny possibility that the curse won't be happy until Rae and I've done all we can to, uh, unite our minds or something like that, and who knows how long that'll take, unless we, uh, utilize the most direct way to, ya know…"

"What on earth, Beast Boy?" Robin exclaimed, mask wide with confusion. "I'm not tracking with you."

The changeling coughed into his glove and was silent. He really, really didn't feel like divulging everything to Robin. With his luck, Robin would pull a Batman and deduce precisely what had led Raven to seek solace in her bedroom, and why Beast Boy was practically begging to be taken off leave. Frankly, the situation was awkward enough as it was, even without everyone knowing that Raven would rather lose her powers forever than sleep with him.

"Ya know what?" Beast Boy began pensively, "You're right. This is for Rae and me to figure out."

Robin's eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline.

"You're just going to casually mention _splitting souls_ and then drop the issue?"

"If you put me back on duty now I'll tell you."

"Beast Boy, don't be petulant," Robin warned in annoyance. "If there's something wrong with my team, then I need to know."

"Well, nothing's _wrong_, as in immediately _life threatening_," Beast Boy offered with an awkward shrug. The silence that followed spoke volumes of Robin's incredulity.

"If you're not going to tell me what's going on, then I'm not going to waste my time," his leader replied stiffly. "Cyborg, Starfire, and I will be back in six days, and I don't want to hear from you until then, got it?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes.

"Tell Cy and Star I said hi," he said bitterly. "See ya, dude."

With that, Beast Boy cut the transmission and fell back against the couch in frustration. Robin had proved to be absolutely no help at all, and he actually regretted contacting his leader at all. He was still back on square one, and it sucked.

TT

"That was Beast Boy," Starfire stated as Robin shut his communicator with a noise of aggravation and replaced the device in his utility belt. Robin nodded in response and went back to the day-old newspaper before him, shifting slightly in his old kitchen stool. Starfire had walked into the kitchen half way through Robin's short conversation with Beast Boy and sat down across from him, followed by Cyborg a few moments after the call ended.

The three unmarried Titans were currently spending some time in Kid Flash's apartment, because… well, actually Robin couldn't remember why. He believed that Jinx had wanted to bring Starfire there earlier in the afternoon, and somehow they had all ended up in the cramped space. It hadn't even been a full day since the wedding and already it was proving difficult to stay out of Raven's and Beast Boy's way.

Cyborg gingerly took a seat on the stool beside Robin; he had already learned the painful lesson once that day that the old junk apartments came pre-furnished with wasn't intended to support the weight of a six-foot tall machine.

"And what's up with them?" the metallic teen asked his leader curiously.

"I have no clue," Robin replied dryly. "Something about soul splitting and Raven isn't talking to Beast Boy again."

Cyborg and Starfire stared at their leader in silence for a moment.

"I am not familiar with this concept of 'soul splitting', I am afraid," Starfire offered.

Robin shrugged tiredly. "I haven't the faintest idea either. And Raven's powers haven't come back yet. Ironic, right?"

"That's not good," Cyborg said with sadness. "Does she have any idea why not?"

"It wasn't clear. Beast Boy mentioned something about linking their minds, but he might have just been talking nonsense. You know how he gets when he and Raven are fighting."

"So what do we do now?" Cyborg asked.

Robin hesitated before speaking.

"I guess nothing," he finally decided with a sigh. "Beast Boy was practically begging to come off leave early, but I don't think that's a good idea. If nothing else, he ought to be resting up, so we don't have a repeat of the warehouse incident."

"Maybe I should go talk to him," Cyborg said pensively. "Ya know, he probably could use some moral support."

"He needs to learn to get by without people holding his hand and helping him through all of his relationship issues," Robin reasoned. "We can't be expected to intervene every time he thinks he needs us, especially now that he and Raven are married."

"Are you sure that this is the most prudent course of action, Robin?" Starfire spoke up in concern. "I do not like leaving my friends alone to suffer when they require assistance."

"In principle, neither do I," Robin replied, "but just trust me. I bet Beast Boy will work this out with Raven on his own eventually. Besides, we should be more worried about Raven right now."

"Man, it's pretty scary that she doesn't have her powers back yet," Cyborg agreed, and Robin nodded grimly.

"I was really hoping that this wouldn't happen," Robin said, obviously distressed.

"Well I'm sure that Rae's troubleshooting as we speak, unless she already knows what's up," Cyborg offered.

"If she knew what was happening, then why wouldn't she tell Beast Boy? Or why wouldn't Beast Boy tell me?" Robin posed. "He knows how serious the situation is. We can't afford to have a team member out of commission for much longer. People are talking already."

"So let 'em talk!" Cyborg exclaimed. "Don't insinuate that you're thinking of taking Rae off the team, Rob."

"Oh, please, Robin," Starfire gasped, eyes wide. "Surely you do not wish to remove Raven from our family, do you?"

"Absolutely not," Robin assured her. "I don't _want_ to do anything like that. Ever." He hesitated and glanced around the room. "But sometimes people are forced to do things they don't want to. God willing that won't be the case, but if Raven were to never get her powers back, then what use would she be to a team of superheroes? It might sound harsh, but we don't have any room on the team for dead weight. That's life."

Tears shimmered in Starfire's eyes and she clasped her hands firmly on the table before her.

"Raven will never be the dead weight to our team," she sniffed, "And I will not stand to see her sent away because of this misfortune, unless you wish to send me away as well."

Robin's mask widened imperceptibly and he was silent. Cyborg spoke up.

"I agree with Starfire, Rob," the bionic teen stated steadily. "Rae's my girl, and I'm not gunna let you just take her off the team because of this mess. Same goes for Beast Boy."

"That's ludicrous," Robin replied, a hint of indignation in his tone. "You've both heard the adage before: We're only as strong as our weakest link. One weak spot could cost us all our lives some day. Naturally it's hard when changes in our team become mandatory, but sometimes change is necessary for survival."

"Well maybe that's a risk the rest of us are willing to take," Cyborg shrugged, his calculating gaze rigid. "Like Star said, we're family. If you have a problem with that, then _you_ need to deal with it."

"We're superheroes," Robin exclaimed, throwing up his hands in emphasis, "And that's the position we've been commissioned to fill for Jump City. We can't afford to be selfish when we have a city to protect. We're not like a normal family."

Cyborg exhaled and shook his head.

"Well," he replied, "There's no point in depressing ourselves like this now. Hopefully Rae'll figure out how to get her powers back, and Beast Boy'll figure out how to get along with her."

"And maybe Slade will turn himself into the JCPD tomorrow," Robin said in frustration. "Let's just leave them alone for now. If there's a God, then perhaps something will change between now and a week from now."

"And if something does not change?" Starfire asked.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Robin replied definitively, and he refused to speak on the subject anymore.

TT

The old scientist's fingers shook as he assembled a slide of the blood he had been given. He felt atrocious to be aiding such a feebleminded criminal carry out such a malevolent scheme, but he was truly powerless to object. He simply could not live with himself if his brash actions were to cost him the life of his wife or children. He simply couldn't.

Feeling less than justified, he carefully placed the prepared slide on the stage of a nearby microscope, and expertly focused in on the sample. It only took a few moments for him to determine that the blood sample was relatively fresh, a few days old at most, if the lack of protein denaturation was any indicator. At a glance, the white blood cell count seemed to be slightly higher than average, but he would have to wait for the completion of his chemistry panel analysis to get a more precise figure. Which reminded him, it would be best to begin that PCR test before he continued, which would analyze whatever DNA could be collected from the blood.

He couldn't imagine anything more frustrating than being given an anonymous blood sample like this. There was a reason that he was in central nervous system research and not forensics. Creating a complete blood profile of this unknown source was tedious work, – the busywork of interns, actually – but the effort was mandated by protocol for the task that he had been commissioned to perform. Naturally he was forced to garner all of the data himself, in light of the fact that he was sworn to absolute secrecy.

The scientist swallowed his displeasure as he moved away from his microscope to prepare the PCR test, and then took a brief trek to a nearby storage room to collect what he needed to perform a blood typing test. He cleared a space on one of the tables in his laboratory and set out the testing cards, then expertly placed a small amount of the mysterious blood onto each card. Each card then received several drops of a different type of antibody-containing reagent, and he allowed himself to sit back a moment while the blood typing test was left to work.

Shutting his eyes and wiping the back of his wrist across his perspiring forehead, the scientist allowed his mind to wander back to when he had been accosted by that wretched villain that morning and made to carry out his bidding. He wanted nothing more than to botch his project and hopefully make the villain fail in whatever scheme he was attempting to pull off, but the wizened scientist feared the ramifications of failure terribly. He simply could not in good conscience risk innocent life by purposefully disobeying the criminal. Still, for once in his life, he wished fiercely that his effort would fail, so that the poor victim of this project would not have to suffer as he or she inevitably would.

His eyes moved listlessly back to the test before him, then widened significantly in shock. He leaned over the samples and peered at them closely, brow furrowed. It seemed that every single blood and reagent mixture had experienced agglutination, which meant that the blood sample did not match any human blood type.

"By God," he whispered in horror, as the appalling reality of his discovery struck him full force. What monstrous endeavor was he being forced to take part in? This was indeed no simple plot to kill an average human, as he had initially suspected. He would have to quickly order more reagents to test for blood types unique to animals, and the DNA test would clearly confirm that the blood was indeed from an animal source, most likely mammalian. But his conclusion troubled him deeply. Why on earth would the villain take such care to create a disease that would uniquely target an insignificant animal? It simply did not add up. But what other organisms contained blood that shared such incredible similarities to that of humans? Logically the organism was important enough in the villain's eyes to merit such an incredible effort to thoroughly and painfully annihilate it.

And then it hit him. The scientist stood quickly, sending his lab stool falling backwards and clanging against the linoleum floor. He backed away from the table in terror, tearing off his latex gloves as me moved. Suddenly the gruesome facets of the situation were falling into place.

This was truly a hellish nightmare.

_Of course_ the blood wasn't from an animal. It was from a metahuman.

Which meant that he was being used as a simple tool to destroy… a superhero.

TT

Beast Boy was feeling dizzy, and his vision was beginning to go dark. He was still staring out the window from the couch in the common room, but he had been lying on his back with his head draped over the edge for some time. He hadn't been conscious of how much time was passing, such was the tumult of thoughts that troubled him.

The changeling took a deep breath and kicked his feet up over his head, somersaulting backwards and landing on his knees on the carpeted floor. He then jumped up and crossed the room to the window, plopped down and crossed his legs.

He hardly understood his sudden fascination with staring out the window. There was something liberating about the outdoors, he supposed, and although he wasn't exactly chained to the Tower, he felt trapped. Precisely, perhaps he felt more trapped with a certain hiding half-demon than he cared to be.

He couldn't help but wonder how nice it would be to just leave for somewhere he could forget all this. He understood that Raven was desperate to distance herself from reality and trick herself into believing that things could go right back to normal, but the fact was, they couldn't. And somehow he seemed to be the only one who was suffering for it.

It was just so unbearably ironic that he and Raven had endured so much change just to save Raven's life and to get them to the point where they were, but the obstacle of consummation threatened to stop them dead. Perhaps literally. And Raven just didn't seem to understand how incredibly painful it was to be treated like the source of her misery. On the contrary, he had done everything she asked without complaint. And still she had the audacity to treat him so terribly!

Beast Boy leaned back and lay supinely on the floor, head cradled in his laced fingers. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath to keep his sanity. Why did Raven have to be like this? Why couldn't she just comprehend what she was putting him through? And for the love of God, why would she promise to try to make the marriage work, when not a day later she turned around completely and refused to even speak with him?

Their interaction in the med bay the morning before should have prepared him for this. It just didn't add up how Raven could be so stubborn the majority of the time, but turn and run whenever the topic of intimacy came up. Sure, it was embarrassing to discuss with someone that you didn't quite like that way, but did he disgust her so much that she couldn't bear to speak with him at all? Wasn't she the one who always lectured _him_ about acting his age?

Beast Boy couldn't deny that this experience had taught him a great deal about Raven, perhaps even more than he had garnered over their simpler years together. He was hardly empathic, but he could read in her eyes as plain as day how troubled she was, despite how she prided herself on being unreadable and collected. In reality, she was the perfect opposite. She was unconfident, distrusting, and afraid.

Afraid! Of _him_! Could you believe it? If that wasn't a turning of the tables, then nothing was. Just the week before Raven had him running and cowering under couches, but somehow, in her mind at least, she had become the prey. The change was a hard realization but an incontrovertible one. He had easily been picking up that aura about her when they were together lately.

The changeling hated the idea that Raven feared him for the control he suddenly held over her life. He wasn't the Beast. He was hardly ever aggressive. He tried so incredibly hard to control himself, which went vastly underappreciated. He knew that Raven had had a hard life, but what had happened to her to teach her such fear of being hurt? He really wanted to know, because he could barely stomach the thought of spending the next two years as the undeclared enemy of the person who ought to be his best friend. He didn't want to feel like some sort of predator, which he thought that he had made clear to Raven. If it were up to him alone, then he would probably do all in his power to give Raven distance, if that meant peace between them. It sure has hell hurt less to avoid emotional conflict with her.

And such was the crux of his dilemma: Should he respect Raven's desperate bid for normalcy, or should he risk further estranging himself from her by trying to gain back her powers? If you thought about it, normalcy was gone forever. It was absolutely shot dead, without hope of resurrection. If he and Raven were to sleep together and thereby regain her powers, then perhaps the Teen Titans could go back to operating as usual power-wise, but the team dynamic would be changed forever. On the flip side, trying to maintain normalcy now might prevent Raven from ever getting her powers back, which would probably end with Raven being forced to leave the team or leaving on her own accord. Still, even if the team miraculously managed to stay together, Beast Boy didn't see why Raven would ever relax her defenses around him. For as long as the threat of intimacy remained, in her eyes, he would be the enemy.

It had only been a matter of days since the air between him and Raven had changed, and already he had been reduced to an exhausted, depressed mess. Beast Boy could hardly fathom maintaining the sorry status quo for two whole years. He had a feeling that calamity would strike before that time was up. Whether it would hit himself, Raven, or the whole team was impossible to predict.

The green Titan set his jaw. He had arrived at a decision. In the interest of preventing life from getting drastically worse for himself or his friends, he had to do something. The cost of inaction was just too high, even if he might have to further sacrifice his happiness. He hadn't the haziest of ideas _what_ he ought to do, but the very decision to take action was a victory.

He couldn't help but wonder what possessed him to come to this conclusion. The suspicion that the situation would worsen otherwise wasn't exactly grounds to pursue a dangerous change in his relationship with Raven. There had to be some sort of deeper motive, one that lent him perseverance, even in the face of complete rejection. There had to be a reason beyond latent desire for his personal happiness, or the notion that it would benefit his team (because honestly, he didn't think that he was quite that selfless).

If it wasn't himself and it wasn't his team, then it had to be Raven herself that he was willing to sacrifice for. That seemed awfully absurd though, considering how much she despised him. Evidently his determination transcended tribulation.

Could it be that… he loved her? A blush rose to Beast Boy's face at the novelty of the thought. He hadn't truly loved a girl before, and couldn't imagine why Raven would be deserving of his affection, but how could he possibly explain his deep desire to keep Raven from a life of being powerless and unhappy, despite being the object of her agonizing rejection? Frankly his nobility seemed to go beyond the commitment that teammates ought to have for each other. But what else could merit his determination, or explain why it crushed him so much to be spurned by her?

Regardless, there was still one troubling piece of evidence, however, which clearly suggested that he wasn't in love: He didn't seem to be afflicted with most of the expected symptoms of the condition. He kept his wits about him whenever Raven was in the same room as him, he hadn't given a second thought to random hugs and whatnot through the years, and not once had he desired her in a lustful sort of way.

But honestly, did it really matter if he loved her? Would it only complicate their marriage? Gosh, he hated to think how Raven would react. She'd probably go off on a rant on the futility of young love again and then run in the opposite direction (again, perhaps literally). And maybe that would be the blow that distanced him from her irreparably. Frankly, he wasn't willing to risk that, even if his unexplainable desire to see Raven happy wasn't truly love. For the time being, he decided that it would be most prudent to keep that revelation to himself.

He hated to admit it, but maybe Robin was right. Perhaps he should go talk to Raven, before he had the time to lose his resolve and descend into hopeless depression again. But would she listen to him? He supposed not. She was hardly inclined to listen to him at the time being, especially if he at all appeared to be advocating what she obviously so ardently opposed. He had never had a way with words, so making her listen to him would probably be an exercise in futility.

Suddenly the changeling's eyes widened. He rolled onto his stomach and got to his feet, a grin spreading slowly across his face.

Life had been thrown up into the air, but for a brief moment, he had a plan.

--

I'll try to have the next chapter up in a more timely manner, I promise.

Reviews are very appreciated, if you have a moment to write a response.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who's celebrating it, and thanks very much for reading!


	13. Shock and Awe

**A.N.** I've returned. Told you I wouldn't give up on this story! I don't really have an excuse for the duration of my absence since I've been on summer break for over a month, but cut me some slack. The junior year of high school was freaking HARD, what with SATs and college prep thrown in for good measure. I've got a part time job now and I've been recuperating from nine months of getting three to four hours of sleep per night by sleeping practically whenever I'm not working. So yeah, that's what I've been up to lately. I apologize profusely for the wait and I don't think it will take nearly that long to come up with future updates. I won't abandon this story; I'm a tenacious little so and so. Also, I want to say a big thanks to everyone who PMed me and encouraged me to continue this fic. You guys were a big encouragement!

Chapter thirteen of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Shock and Awe"

The scientist, or Roger B. Newman, PhD, as was sown beside the lapel of his lab coat, had been pacing madly for almost half an hour. The blood belonged to a metahuman, he was sure of it now. He had no clue what the blood type of the donor was; every test had been returned negative. And yet the blood had distinctly human qualities, containing red and white blood cells, proteins, platelets, and plasma that closely mimicked those found in a human. Once realizing this, he hurriedly performed an ABAcard hematrace test, which detected the presence of at least a trace amount of hemoglobin in the blood by successfully reacting it with a dyed monoclonal antihuman hemoglobin antibody. Then he was certain of his suspicion. He could neither confirm nor deny that the sample was animal blood, but it was undeniably proven to be human by the ABAcard. And yet it wasn't strictly human either, as evidenced by the negative blood typing tests.

The only viable solution to such a bizarre enigma? The blood belonged to a metahuman. Only a metahuman could have human blood that was dissimilar to that of all modern humankind, as if only that individual had been subjected to millions, perhaps billions of years of evolutionary mutations, thereby developing a significantly different circulatory system. All he could do now was wait impatiently for the results to the DNA test. Immediately upon beginning to suspect that the blood belonged to a meta, he had categorized the PCR DNA analysis as urgent and classified. From personal experience, he know that the test should only take two hours or so to complete while under those parameters, so the results were bound to be delivered to him very soon.

Newman hated having nothing to do but wait; it gave him time to think, time to question whether or not he would actually help carry out the villain's diabolical scheme now that he was aware of the ramifications. There were two clear choices he could make: Help the villain and aid in the slow, painful destruction of a superhero, or throw himself and his family at the mercy of the villain by disregarding his commission. The prospect of that second option nearly caused the old man physical pain. He could never live with himself if he knew he was jeopardizing the lives of the only people he cared about. His dear wife. His kids, the two forty-somethings he had raised and poured all of his love into, and the six grandchildren they had provided him. If they died, he would lose his reason for living.

Had he come to a decision then? Bile rose in his throat. Superheroes are uncommonly strong, he attempted to console himself. They face attacks on their lives everyday. Even if he carried this project to completion and the metahuman victim was attacked with it, maybe the metahuman could figure out a way to survive. Or maybe the meta would destroy the villain before the surely lethal serum could be administered. On the other hand, if he refused to complete the villain's assignment, he and his family were hopeless and utterly defenseless. Just damned sitting ducks.

He jumped when his fax machine began to beep, and several typed pages were quickly spat out. It was the results to the extensive PCR DNA test he had ordered several hours ago, just as comprehensive and complete as was expected from the top lab technicians in the country. His wrinkled hands shook as he snatched up the papers and he peered through his eyeglasses at the words before him. He sat down, no longer able to feel his body because of the foggy, numb chill that had settled over him. His trained eyes continued to scan the paper, expecting to find something terrible.

At first nothing abnormal jumped out at him. CMV test, negative. HIV test, negative. Influenza test, negative. Poliomyelitis test, negative. Negative, negative, negative. As the blood's abnormally high white blood count had suggested to him, the donor of this blood sample was obviously capable of maintaining impeccable health. For now. A cold shiver rattled the scientist's bones. He pressed on in scanning the pages, past the disease analysis portion and to the DNA abnormalities analysis. KSS negative. MERRF negative. MELAS negative. Leber's disease negative. Pearson's disease negative. No evidence of any type of cancer. Everything was checking out; this individual looked like a perfectly healthy human being, and there seemed to be no unique identifying features. That is, until the scientist's eyes focused on one particular line of text: "Recombinant DNA presence: positive."

At long last! An idiosyncrasy of the blood by which he could possibly identify the blood's source. Come to think of it, an article on the subject of recombinant DNA had been published not terribly long ago––two years at the most––in one of the journals he followed. Locating the article wouldn't be challenging. Newman put down the PCR results and closed his eyes for a moment before walking briskly over to his computer, where he accessed the online database where copies of his scientific journals were kept. He sat down and entered the keywords "Recombinant DNA" and within seconds had retrieved the article he had been recalling. He read the title and blinked. He reread the title, while his ears began to ring. This was it. This was the answer to his question! He knew whose blood he was testing, and whose life he would ruin. Why, he was just a little boy. The ringing in his ears became deafening and everything turned white. The scientist slumped back in his chair, out cold.

And upon his computer screen, blown up and furnished with a picture of the subject, remained the article, the bold title proclaiming, THE ORIGIN, PRESENCE AND LONGTERM IMPACT OF UNENGINEERED RECOMBINANT DNA: CASE STUDY OF ALIAS BEAST BOY, by an anonymous author.

TT

The hall was silent, just as it had been for the two minutes or so that Beast Boy had been idling in it, just standing before Raven's door and psyching himself up for what he was about to do. He prayed that this would go over well, but with Raven you could never exactly predict what would happen. He was sweating slightly from nervousness and swallowed heavily as he cautiously knocked on her bedroom door. The slight tremor of apprehension in his hand as it moved did not escape him.

The careful knock reverberated through the nearly vacant hallway, and Beast Boy shifted his weight anxiously. His keen ears strained to pick up even the slightest sound of reaction from within Raven's bedroom, but for a few seconds there was nothing. God, what would he do if she didn't answer? He hadn't considered that. It took so much courage to do this once that he'd probably run out of nerve before he could try again.

Several more agonizing moments of overwhelming silence passed, during which the changeling stood completely still. He sighed to himself with relief when he finally heard a gentle creaking from within Raven's bedroom, which confirmed his assumption that she had indeed found sanctuary there. However, the noise was probably from her bed, which probably meant that she had been sleeping or reading or something, and he had most likely disturbed her. Great. She was disenchanted enough with him as it was (to put it tamely), even when he made an effort not to pester her. But for once, it actually had to be done.

"Go away, Beast Boy," Raven uttered quietly from within her room. Without Beast Boy's impeccable hearing, he probably would not have been able to hear her at all. But even though the door muffled her words, the changeling did not have any trouble making them out or even noticing their utter lack of inflection, which stood as a notable testament to her impressive façade of emotional control. In fact, if she hadn't been speaking so strongly against him just hours ago, maybe he would have bought into her affected indifference.

Instead of offering a verbal reply, Beast Boy offered up a silent prayer for courage and merely knocked on her door again, just slightly louder and more confidently than the first time. He took a few careful, measured breaths. He could do this. He could do this. Oh God, he couldn't do this.

There were a good twenty seconds or so of silence this time, and they dragged on like hours for the distressed Titan in the hallway. But just when Beast Boy was debating if he ought to knock a third time, he heard an exasperated sigh and more shifting from within the chamber. His heart leapt to his throat and he took a final deep breath, and then quickly transformed himself into a green cat. Feline Beast Boy then sat down neatly on the cold floor and stared wide-eyed at the looming metal door in anticipation.

For several moments, Beast Boy could hear Raven standing just before her door, which made him wonder if she would even open it after all. Perhaps she was hoping that his short attention span would get the better of him, and that he would mercifully leave her alone if she waited long enough. Honestly, he wanted nothing more than that himself at the moment, but he fought against the strong, instinctual urge to flee.

Finally, at long, long last, Raven's hydraulic door slid open with a mechanical hiss. The meager light from the hallway immediately poured into the empath's unlit bedroom, and splashed across her intimidating, cloaked figure. Raven's shoulders were squared and her hood was drawn, which hid her face in those all too familiar shadows that seemed to be her security blanket during troubling times. However, the harsh words that were moments from being formed on the dark Titan's lips faded as she peered into the empty hallway in confusion. Barely missing a beat, her calculating gaze shifted downward and she spotted Beast Boy, whose long, green tail was swishing back and forth anxiously all the while. She raised an eyebrow and looked at the cat skeptically, but the cat stared right back. His whiskers twitched nervously, the close proximity of his formidable teammate no doubt intimidating.

"Is there something you want?" Raven inquired flatly. Her tone betrayed that she obviously felt quite gracious for even deigning to speak to a cat in the first place… unless that too was an air put on to dissuade him.

In response, the cat merely cocked his head to the left, apparently looking past Raven and into her very dark, very frightening bedroom.

Raven continued to stare down at Beast Boy blandly. He could almost smell the disbelief that suddenly surrounded the empath. Somehow the changeling could tell that he had her confused, which did a bit to strengthen him. For once, she was trying to figure out what he was thinking, instead of the other way around. Still, Raven would be two steps ahead of him in no time, he was sure, which was why waiting like this was unbearable. Precious seconds passed and he continued to stare past Raven, whose eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the harried kitten. But luckily for Beast Boy, just when he thought that he was about to crack and have a little kitten heart attack, a miracle happened.

Raven sighed and cast her gaze heavenward. She turned, retreated several steps into her bedroom and stopped, glancing with a look of absolute indifference over her shoulder. Mind filled simultaneously with excitement and crippling trepidation, Beast Boy took her actions as a sign of charity and quickly scampered into her bedroom. He crossed the carpeted floor and leapt onto her bed, well aware that such actions might cost him his life. But he hadn't come this far to cop out. He figured that he was essentially at the point of no return, and there wasn't much left to lose anyway, in terms of whatever existed between him and his new wife.

Raven apparently couldn't believe Beast Boy's audacity either. The look on her face clearly informed the changeling that she wasn't certain if she should humor him further or bodily remove him from her bedroom. Hoping to turn the tables in his favor, Beast Boy the little green cat mewed and offered Raven what he hoped was his most winning kitten face. His actions won him a disdainful smirk from Raven, but she rolled her eyes and shut the door to her room. She crossed the floor casually and came to a stop before Beast Boy, who stared up at her while she appeared over him, hood still concealing her cheerless face.

"What do you want?" Raven repeated, her voice ever so slightly lighter this time. Beast Boy silently rejoiced. _No one_ could resist the face, not even Raven in all her formidable obstinacy.

Instead of replying verbally, Beast Boy took a single hop across the dark, silky bed sheets (taking care not to snag them with his claws) and sat down facing Raven again, providing ample room for her to sit.

Unfortunately she did not, and the ensuing staring contest nearly sapped Beast Boy of his resolve completely. Raven remained standing expressionlessly before him, arms folded beneath her cloak, and refused to budge from her spot beside the bed. Clearly she was waiting for him to stop his antics and reveal his purpose in wasting her time, and making herself comfortable wasn't one of her priorities.

"Beast Boy," Raven finally sighed in a warning tone, several minutes into the silence, "why are you here?" The changeling did not reply. Raven scowled internally. He played the part of an innocent kitten so well, darn him. Still, she could have sworn that he was beginning to shake, which was a clear testament to his prevailing fear of her. That made her glad.

"If you have no reason to be here, then I'd appreciate it if you left," she pushed on. "I'm busy."

Still sitting neatly on the cool sheets, the cat managed a pseudo-leisurely yawn and looked away from the empath in apparent disinterest. Even as a cat, the green idiot was a decent actor. Raven would give him that much.

Beast Boy stretched slowly and curled up, resting his little head on his paws. He snuggled into the sheets luxuriously, as if to say that he wasn't going anywhere. There was a beat of tense silence, during which Beast Boy could only hope that he hadn't terribly irritated the empath before him. He also prayed that she bought this act of indifference, because in reality his insides had been reduced to changeling flavored jell-o.

"What are you trying to accomplish, Beast Boy?" Raven posed in aggravation, eying the cat warily. "You know that there is nothing left to discuss. It will make life easier for the both of us if you understand that."

The kitten, who had closed his eyes while getting settled, opened one of them tiredly. He meowed in a melancholy sort of way but remained otherwise still.

Raven shifted in mild irritation. She had a strong feeling that Beast Boy had some sort of twisted agenda, and if he had come to accomplish something, then of course she could expect all of his usual stubbornness.

It was quite frustrating, actually, that she had done all in her power to dissuade him from the notion that anything would become of their marriage, and yet Beast Boy seemed not to comprehend her yearning for normalcy. Sure, it was unfortunate that she had to resort to using a certain level of… firmness with him, but even then Beast Boy didn't seem to grasp her message. Feeling guilty about being harsh was pointless, just as expecting a fairytale ending was absurd. If anything perhaps she hadn't been harsh enough, or else Beast Boy would have the good sense to realize that she didn't want him randomly showing up in her bedroom like this. Even so, it wasn't like she particularly enjoyed being cruel to the changeling, even if he really did deserve it. She simply couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that she had been harboring since she had gone off at Beast Boy earlier that day. Especially seeing him like this now, the changeling seemed like just a fragile little kid. Could he really be the despicable monster that Raven had drawn him up to be in her mind? Perhaps she had overestimated his treacherousness a touch. But then again, perhaps maintaining her gut instinct to distrust him would prevent the rise of a relationship that would destroy the team's cohesiveness, if not her own sanity first. Still, it was hard to look upon the changeling at that moment and think of him as capable of causing her harm.

"God forbid that you think your antics will do anything to persuade me," she uttered quietly, almost in surrender. She gingerly sat down on her bed beside the green cat, who again began to eye her. "My mind has been made up. Please don't waste your time with an effort that will ultimately only make our lives harder."

The changeling rejoiced a little inside. To be sure, the empath's words betrayed no new sentiment, but the conviction that usually shone beneath them was lacking. Incredible. Could it be that for once his plan wasn't going to blow up in his face? Still, the changeling decided it was prudent to bide his time. A lot could go wrong in a very short amount of time, so he still did not respond, even when Raven was motionless for several unbearably tense minutes.

For the changeling to spend so much time in silence was quite enough to convince Raven that he was up to something odd. The empath shifted her position so that she was sitting cross-legged with her back to her pillow, an act that she feared might be misread as an act of truce. Only compounding her unease was the fact that she couldn't for the life of her figure out exactly what the changeling was up to. Usually it was very apparent early on. Not only did the absence of her empathic powers make it notably more difficult to figure out what the green boy was thinking, but the guise of a cat form made reading him quite impossible. If he was waiting for some sort of apology though, he'd be waiting until hell froze over. Raven could outlast anyone in a battle of wills, and she was quite finished with yielding to his fatuousness for the day.

Raven carefully slid back and leaned against her headboard, stretching her legs out on the bed before her. Beast Boy remained on the other side of the bed, studying her soundlessly. She closed her eyes. She did feel a bit sleepy, actually, and a nap didn't sound all that bad. If Beast Boy felt like giving her the silent treatment, or whatever imbecilic endeavor this was, then he could stare at her until he died of boredom. She really didn't care. She wouldn't give him the pleasure of offering further justification or anything that could be misconstrued as reconsideration of her previous assertions.

And so she simply allowed herself to relax, attempting not to think about Beast Boy and his presence. If there was a single perk to being stripped of her empathic prowess, it was gaining the ability to ignore the presence of people around you. There were no auras to pick up on, and no emotions to read. Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss, especially when it came to Beast Boy and his unpredictable emotions.

It was a matter of minutes before Raven began to nod off. Her bedroom was pleasantly warm and with effort she was able to force her weary mind away from troubling thoughts. When she tried, she was almost able to convince herself that Beast Boy wasn't even there, a trick that had come in handy the night before.

However, perhaps ten minutes later, Raven was suddenly pulled from the throes sleep at the sensation of some slight, warm pressure upon her leg.

Raven's eyes snapped open and she was greeted with the sight of that darned green cat with his head resting against her calf. With a frown she pulled her leg sideways, which made the cat's tiny head drop to the bed. This, in turn, made the drowsy kitten awaken with a start. He stumbled to his tiny feet and stepped gingerly back towards the head of the bed in a sleepy sort of trance, then stretched out again against the pillow next to Raven's. Within seconds he appeared to be fast asleep again, and completely comfortable in his place. For some reason this display of forwardness irked the empath terribly.

"Beast Boy, would you please drop this? You're just being annoying," Raven demanded between clenched teeth, a bit more loudly than was necessary. "You apparently have no business in my bedroom other than to aggravate me with your silent protest."

Beast Boy did not budge. He did, however, appear to rouse from his languid state, and he yawned ––quite adorably–– again. That was just the icing on the cake.

"If you're just going to be petulant then I'm going to make you leave," Raven threatened, coldness seeping into her words as she spoke. "We've discussed everything that needs to be discussed, and I think we would both be better off if you forgot the ridiculous notion that you're entitled to invade my space like this, just because we share a last name. I find it difficult to believe that you haven't picked up on that yet." With a flawless transition from tranquility, Raven's attitude was suddenly pure ice, hard as rock but smooth as glass. "I never gave you a reason to believe that I'm interested in pursuing a relationship with you, and do not expect me to change my mind in the future. Stop trying, will you? Save your efforts for two years, and then you can find another Terra who will gladly return your immoderate affection. But I'm not interested."

The green cat was still, save its twitching ears, all the while that Raven was speaking. He remained motionless for a moment after Raven finished and his focus drifted from her, as if he was processing her words.

In the time it took to blink, the green cat was replaced by a green boy, whose sudden weight upon the mattress caused the bed to creak. The frown marring the changeling's face unmistakably displayed his displeasure. The emotion that an animal's visage could not convey shone plainly in the boy's hard green eyes, making Raven secretly wish that he hadn't transformed at all. He sat cross-legged facing Raven, and now boldly returned her gaze.

"That hurt enough the first time," the changeling said with a definite edge of spite. "You don't need to keep repeating yourself."

Raven's expression remained impassive. But regardless of her pretended nonchalance, the uncharacteristically rigid indignation in the boy's face disquieted her deeply. Perhaps she had been wrong to hope that he was simply up to his childish antics, then?

"Apparently I must," she replied calmly, trying to draw up an air of righteous offense with which to shield herself. "Evidently you have forgotten what I said, or else you would not be here."

Beast Boy scoffed bitterly in reply.

"Of course I didn't forget, Raven," he said somewhat derisively, voice low with thinly veiled resentment. "It's not possible to forget it so quickly when the girl you just married says she hates your guts."

"I never said that I hate you, Beast Boy," she defended, "only that I don't love you."

"But not just that," he continued angrily. Suddenly the room was uncomfortably warm and stuffy. "You made sure I understood that you'll never love me, or heck, even be tolerant of my existence, regardless of how I saved your life! What a way to repay me, Raven. You've really outdone yourself this time."

"I refuse to justify myself," Raven responded indignantly, and her eyes narrowed slightly. "It's not my problem that you can't bear to act maturely for once and be content to keep your hands to yourself while I work through this. _Alone_."

Beast Boy knew that the emotions he had tried hard to suppress earlier were boiling inside him, strangling him as he struggled to keep them at bay. He finally had the opportunity to tell Raven exactly how she had made him feel over the last week, as she coldly regarded him as nothing more than a depraved savage. Even now she called him immature. If only he could make her understand how horribly wrong she was! He didn't want to hold back any more. For once in his life he wanted Raven to apologize for the hell she was putting him through, because obviously she was still completely ignorant of how she was destroying him. How else could she put him through such misery and yet retain the audacity to stand by her actions? He would probably regret lashing out later, but he couldn't care less. He felt powerless as the ocean of suppressed fury threatened to sweep him to his certain demise, and a thirst for retribution overpowered his better judgment. He craved the satisfaction of finally wrenching Raven from that deplorable obstinacy of hers, because it was eroding every bit of confidence and precious happiness left in him.

"How dare you lecture me about maturity, Raven," Beast Boy seethed, olive eyes narrowed. "You're so quick to insult my self control, but you can't even get off your damn high horse to see how hypocritical you're being!" His gloved hands were balled into fists beside him, now shaking for a different reason entirely. He moved to clutch her sheets tightly in his hands, desperately fighting for composure, for grounding. After all, he knew, if he couldn't keep from losing it, then he was no better than Raven.

"Hypocritical?" Raven repeated dangerously. Now _that_ allegation hit a nerve. "Pray tell, dear boy, how _I'm_ being hypocritical."

"With pleasure! You can hardly stomach being in the same room as me, and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why!" Beast Boy exclaimed, utterly distraught. His fingers still were still woven into Raven's blankets, and he clutched them even tighter, as if they were his only hope of retaining sanity. "You're afraid. You're absolutely terrified, I know, and you run away every time you feel threatened! I'm not the one running from our issues, Raven, and still you call me immature. Running doesn't solve anything, and for once, I'm the only one who seems to understand that."

"I'm not running, I'm being prudent. Our relationship is a threat to the stability of the team, and while you'd prefer to ignore that, I'm not willing to risk our lives as Titans," Raven replied, incensed. Beast Boy's lividness may have jostled her more than she wished to admit, but it would not hinder her from speaking the truth that he obviously needed to hear. "All I fear is that your efforts to create some unnecessary romance between us will end up destroying us. If you insist on believing that I'm running, then I won't waste the effort to disabuse you from that ridiculous notion."

While the two were arguing, Raven had drawn herself up to match Beast Boy, and now returned his gaze relentlessly. She regarded him with arms folded beneath her cloak and a look of righteous fury upon her face. Her hood had been pushed back, and her husband could see her eyes blazing with the sentiment she voiced. This look infuriated Beast Boy. She was lying to his face! How could she keep up such a guise of blamelessness and try to force him onto the defensive, when clearly she wasn't telling him the whole truth, if any at all? He knew that girls were uncannily talented at deception, but it was frightening to think that Raven could seem so serious while lying. The question that remained for Beast Boy to rapidly strive to answer was, could this presumed friend of his actually be intentionally misleading him, even now? If so, then surely she was no friend of his. And maybe she never had been. Such a morbid thought broke the changeling's heart. A bit of his fury began to drain from him as the implications of that new idea slammed into him. Beast Boy clenched his teeth and forced himself to keep silent. He needed a moment to rein in his thoughts, or else he was sure to come out with something that he would regret saying later. He craved the satisfaction of forcing Raven to see the error in her way, but not at the cost of his self-respect. He hadn't meant this meeting to descend into another argument, and yet it had. That sickened him horribly. And on her birthday too.

The changeling remained still as he forced himself to calm down. He didn't want to stay angry at Raven. It was just too exhausting, and his head hurt. If Raven wanted to paint him as her antagonist, then maybe he simply ought to let her. It would crush him, but at least they would avoid such terrible conflict. He was beginning to doubt that it was even in his power to change Raven's mind, just as Robin had asserted. And yet what had made him attempt to do so in the first place? If he actually loved her, would he be willing to give up like this?

Raven watched Beast Boy warily as stillness overtook her bedroom again. He was breathing hard and looking down at the wrinkles in her sheets, apparently lost in his thoughts, and did not speak for what seemed like an eternity. Raven was puzzled and a bit frightened at his sudden anger, but was equally disquieted by this disturbing silence. She knew that she had upset him badly. Azar knew she hadn't meant to, but evidently her ill-timed accusation of immaturity had gotten to him, or perhaps it had merely been the straw that broke his back. Outside, the wind was blowing languidly over the bay and a clock within her room counted the moments that slipped by. At long last Beast Boy spoke, and thankfully some anger had gone from his voice, although a hollow sort of despondency had replaced it.

"That's not all you're afraid of," Beast Boy insisted quietly with a quiet shake of his head, an assertion that quickly drew her wary attention back to him. His eyes remained on the smooth sheets between them, eyes tracing the gentle contours in the material. His tone was not precisely one of accusation anymore, but was instead filled with all the solemnity of having come to a heartbreaking realization. "You're afraid of… me," he nearly whispered.

Raven's eyes opened wide in surprise and she made a noise of disbelief. Her? Afraid of _Beast Boy_?

"Surely you flatter yourself," she began, shocked that the changeling would accuse her of such a thing. "Honestly I preferred being called hypocritical."

"I'm not as stupid as you think I am," Beast Boy ground out uncomfortably, finally shifting his gaze up to lock with Raven's again. The rage that had previously hardened his face had largely melted away, but the tenacity that replaced it seemed just as foreign. "I won't insult your powers and say I have a sort of empathy, but I've at least got some sort of animal equivalent to it." Suddenly he couldn't keep his eyes focused on the empath any longer. "And if there's one thing that a lot of animals… well, _predators_ can sense, it's fear."

"I'm… not afraid of you," Raven breathed mechanically.

"Yes, Rae, you _are_."

Raven swallowed at the use of her pet name. A definite undertone of spite still cut his words, but anguish had apparently overcome the changeling's fury. Beast Boy's head was tilted down now, his shoulders drooping forward a bit. Subconsciously he began to slowly smooth out the deep creases in her sheets that he had caused.

And suddenly, Raven didn't want to look at him either. She twisted sideways again so that her back was to her headboard. She tried to swallow away the thickness in her throat, but to no avail. Her voice betrayed her agitation.

"Why would you say that?" she inquired, eyes cast straight ahead. Still, her peripheral vision caught Beast Boy's head tilt up. He was still for a pensive moment, and then let out his breath as a slow sigh.

"We used to be friends. Good friends, I guess. Then… all this happened, and something in you… something in your eyes––God, I can't explain it in words––but something… dimmed. And… and all that replaced it at first was this teeny shadow of something uncomfortable––fear, I know now. And I understood that; you had just found out about this… thing, and you proposed to me." Beast Boy's voice gave out here and he cleared his throat. Although he was staring at Raven's face in earnest, she was still looking off into the distance before her, nearly expressionless. He reached out a gloved hand to her. She did not move. He persisted, and yet Raven appeared not to notice the gesture at all. Distraught, he moved a bit closer to her and rested the hand on her shoulder. No response. Eyes carefully trained on hers, Beast Boy's hand trailed down her arm to rest over her worrisomely cold hand, which he clasped.

"So," Beast Boy continued, that dreadful feeling of suppressed tears beginning to well in his throat, "You proposed. And… I discounted your uncomfortableness. Your fear. It was fine, right? I was afraid too, I mean." He shrugged a bit, hand still covering hers. "But it didn't go away like mine did. You just got more and more afraid, and you only tried to cover it up by getting angry at me. You wanted me to feel like a freaking criminal or something so you'd feel justified in hating me. But you're terrified, Rae! Terrified that," his throat clenched, "that I'll make you… sleep with me, and I'll hurt you, and suddenly… you won't be so independent, so untouchable anymore. And you'll never be the same, and it'll be all my fault."

He used his free hand to wipe at his eyes with frustration, staying focused on Raven's face. Her eyes were cast down now, her lower lip between her teeth, but she did not answer him. He pulled her hand toward him, covering it with both of his. And even then, that scent of fear remained. How could words relate the despair this caused him? He prayed for a response. That's all he wanted now, simply the gift of closure. Seconds slid by, an eternity to Beast Boy. Had her room grown even darker? And then, when ages seemed to have passed, Raven tiled her face ever so imperceptibly towards him.

"It isn't your fault," she voiced vacantly. Her eyes drifted the length of her arm, to the hand that was obscured between Beast Boy's slightly larger, gloved ones. She swallowed cautiously. "It isn't your fault," she repeated with a bit more conviction, "but you're… right." She bravely ventured a glance toward Beast Boy, a war-weary look that the changeling seemed to graciously soak up. She couldn't find even a trace of anger in his eyes now, nor in the careful way he cradled her hand in his, longing to show his desire for peace more than simple words allowed.

"It's the curse that is hurting everything. It is hurting the team, and hurting our… relationship." Raven's brow creased a bit. Her cautious, quiet words grew a bit stronger, though her voice was still disturbingly fragile. "So, no, I don't blame you," she asserted with a shadow of her usual confidence. "I blame the curse. I blame it for providing no way, short of death and damnation, to avoid intimacy, and the trials it would certainly cause us. That intimacy… I _do_ fear."

"But why?" Beast Boy asked in earnest. "Raven, I… I really care about you, do you get that?"

Raven shook her head distraughtly.

"So what?" she breathed, almost mirthlessly. "Affection cannot change me. I was born to be a portal, not a person. I was not raised to accept or tolerate affection. If you were privy to my past and all the things I've been through, you wouldn't hold me at fault for being… aloof, creepy, what have you. It's what I've become because of… what I've been through," she offered, striving simultaneously for truth and comfortable ambiguity. "I cannot change that I have learned to despise intimacy as weakness, as abuse waiting to happen. If my life has taught me one thing, it is that trust is so easily betrayed. Without exception. I will not take that risk."

Beast Boy felt Raven's hand twitch, as if to ball into a fist. He clasped it all the tighter.

"I can't imagine what your childhood must have been like," he offered, "I'm sorry it messed you up. But––"

"There is no but, Beast Boy," Raven said in growing frustration. What was wrong with this boy, she wondered, that even calling reference to her shadowy past wasn't enough to change his mind? Was he looking for a bigger fight than they were currently weathering? "When alone, I'm safe and as close to happy as I can ask to be. That is what I've become and what I will always be."

"That's not true, Raven, and you know it," the changeling insisted powerfully. "You're reclusive because you don't want to get hurt again. I get that. But you can't hide in your shell forever, and I'm not going anywhere. I've said it before, but I'm never going to hurt you. So you're not exactly ready to jump in bed with me––um, you know what I meant––and I get that too. That doesn't mean we have to be enemies." Here the changeling hesitated before going on. "And you can imagine what it's like when someone you care about treats you like a criminal. Look Raven, I'm not asking you to radically change your mind on the spot or something. Just think it over, I can wait."

Raven finally pulled her hand free from the changeling's grip. She held it to her body, crossing her arms on reflex.

"You'll wait for me to come around, then?" she scoffed sadly. "Two years would come and go long before I could resign myself. I don't _want_ romance. It's clear that you do. And therein rests one of the irreconcilable reasons that we, Beast Boy, should not be married."

"It isn't about romance, Raven!" Beast Boy appealed in earnest. "I… I wouldn't be human if I said I was fine with all this platonic stuff forever, but I just want this thing between us to work, because there's obviously a reason that us two random people got smashed together by the curse. Don't try to discount that."

"Beast Boy," Raven groaned tiredly. "Just stop it, please."

"I can't and I won't," he replied tenaciously. "Maybe you'll thank me for it someday."

"I already made the mistake of thanking you," Raven bit, "the moment you agreed to marry me. I have begun to wish, however, that you hadn't agreed at all."

"You'd be dead!" Beast Boy cried forcefully.

"Dead but blissfully and eternally celibate," Raven sighed, glancing heavenward, a mockery of lily-white virtue. She watched Beast Boy shake his head in disbelief. It turned up her spirits, honestly. She didn't want to tear at the changeling like this, but even a temporary leg up did a bit to put her tortured mind at peace. He had given her far too much to brood over as it was. It would be best if he simply left now.

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. Now please leave."

"I came here to accomplish something, Raven."

"If your goal was to frustrate yourself and disenchant me then congratulations, you've accomplished something. Now leave."

Beast Boy's gaze was deathly serious.

"What if I say no?" he inquired inscrutably.

Raven's eyebrow arched in challenge.

"Then stay. Dig your own grave," she replied, attempting detachment. Her brow furrowed for a moment, then she continued with a more scornful tone of voice. "But don't tell me that you're deciding to be hypocritical now," Raven said, eyes widening a bit with feigned incredulity. "If you care about my happiness so much, why are you refusing to leave?"

"If I left you alone you'd get a few days––a few weeks tops––of happiness. Then Robin would kick you off the team, because you're no longer a superhero," Beast Boy said bluntly. "Deny it, I dare you, but I know you. You wouldn't know what to do with yourself without this gig, but I'd bet my life you wouldn't be happy." He crossed his arms. "I don't want that to happen to you."

Raven stared at Beast Boy, feeling quite unnerved.

"My life isn't going to be happy, Beast Boy," she replied. "For one reason or another. At least if I left I wouldn't have to constantly ward off your sexual advances."

The changeling felt deeply wounded, like the empath had stabbed him with a kitchen knife and twisted. Agony pulsed with his heartbeat, the fire of Raven's hatred for him breaking him apart. His only desire was to help Raven, the girl he thought he loved, but he was physically incapable of convincing her of such. He just couldn't do it, a fact he could barely cope with. He had made himself defenseless, vulnerable before his wife, and she had done all in her power to destroy him. He only wanted to help her, but she did not believe him. Worse, she mistook his act of love as perversion. Why? Simply because she refused to believe that a man could be anything but a simpleminded beast.

He was silent, and time passed. Raven spoke again.

"If you want to make me happy, leave me alone," she said tranquilly. Her voice was very quiet, but in the silence of the room, Beast Boy caught every blistering word as if it had been shouted.

Beast Boy swallowed thickly and cast his eyes up at Raven, the look unsettling the empath. If his eyes were the portal to his soul, then he was truly more forsaken and hopeless than she. A whisper of a thought chilled her core. _What had she done?_

And then he was gone. Turned into a fly and fled the room. Raven did not flinch for many minutes, her ears and eyes straining for a sign that Beast Boy was coming back. She half wanted him to come back, but he didn't. Raven curled into a ball and wept bitterly.

TT

Roger Newman held what was left of Beast Boy's vial of blood in his trembling hand, cradling the glass tube delicately. He was truly a monster for what he was about to do. He was about to forsake all he stood for as a scientist, a father and an American citizen, but his hands were tied. Even if he were to disappear forever, his family would be in mortal peril.

But there was a flicker of hope: Perhaps he could alert the Teen Titans somehow of what was about to transpire? Then again, what if the villain would be checking in on his progress, or even (the thought made him shudder) watching him as he went about his task? He would need to be flawlessly cautious if he wanted to get away with warning Beast Boy of the grave danger he faced. Or maybe there wasn't a way to get away with saving the poor superhero, but if he could die to protect both his family and poor Beast Boy, he would.

A tenuous plan was already beginning to form in Newman's mind as he dialed his wife's cell phone number and told her to expect him home late.

--

Review please. It'll make me happier than a monkey in a banana bread factory.

And I'm really excited for the chapters to come, so stick around. I promise I'll try to keep the intensely science-y bits to an absolute minimum, as to not bore my entire readership to tears.

Also, I've recently decided to offer my services as a beta reader, if anyone's interested. Just talk to me, hm?

Thanks for reading!


	14. Thunderstruck

**A.N.** Not quite the rapid update I was hoping for, but at least it didn't take eight months, right? Right?

Chapter fourteen of "Like It Or Not," entitled "Thunderstruck"

Beast Boy stared up at the nearly cloudless sky, transfixed as gulls swooped around him, playing effortlessly in the gusty, crisp air. He shivered a bit against the chilly May morning, but the large, sunbathed rock he was stretched out upon offered him some warmth. Despite the cheery weather, dark clouds of unsolved problems hung thickly in Beast Boy's mind, but he tried to block them out and simply enjoy the sounds and smells of the bay on the edge of Titans' Island. He just wanted to forget everything, even if only for one morning, which was entirely impossible while inside the Tower. He was tired of sneaking about, avoiding Raven and thereby avoiding another explosive confrontation and all the psychological agony that would entail.

How many days had it been since Raven's birthday? Three, or was it four? Four, Beast Boy decided. But the days dragged on like weeks; tense moments were strung together into one endless chain of avoiding conflict with Raven and retreating to dress emotional wounds in the comfort of his bedroom.

Beast Boy hadn't spoken to Raven since their unfortunate meeting in her room on her birthday, which had ended with him leaving, distraught beyond words. It took a full day to feel human again after that and he had spent one of the loneliest nights of his life alone in his room, curled on the floor and suffering flashbacks of Terra and nightmares whenever he managed to drift into fitful slumber. The ensuing days had been both dull and tense. Several times Beast Boy had been alone in the common room or training room, flipping channels or spending some time on the treadmill, when Raven had walked into the room he occupied. For the briefest of moments the breath would seize in his throat and hope for reconciliation would bloom in his chest, but then Raven's face would go blank and she would quickly retreat from the room without so much as a greeting.

He had quickly become accustomed to Raven's refusal to speak or associate with him. He would not be able to come to terms with it, but it became more bearable as the time passed and it became the norm. Beast Boy even wondered if he had started healing from his broken heart, so deft was he becoming at blocking out the pain of Raven's rejection. The only thing in life he had to look forward to was the end of this dreadful honeymoon, when he could get back on the team and back into active duty. Even that small beacon of hope seemed bright in his cloudy world.

That is, it had until that very morning. Beast Boy had woken up that windy day and opened his door, only to find that Raven had finally removed the purple and green blankets from her bedroom and placed them in a pile in front of his door. Something about seeing that wedding gift thrown before his door in a heap was like carving fresh wounds into his heart. Beast Boy had felt unbearably lost and cried like he hadn't in a long time. It was this particular act of spurning that had caused the poor changeling to finally seek solace outdoors, effectively giving up on his life in the Tower for a while.

The changeling wondered why it had taken him so long to think of taking reprieve in the great outdoors, where Raven hadn't appeared the entire week. Here he was guaranteed time alone in the healing hand of nature, where he didn't have to think about Raven and how they had both forsaken their relationship. It hurt him to admit that he had given up for the time being, but there was nothing else that could be done. Lord knew it hurt too badly to hold onto even a shred of hope. What was the point? Raven would just keep abusing him if she thought he still clung to optimism, and he couldn't take that.

Beast Boy hopped up with a stretch and a sigh. He leapt from the rock he was standing on and into the bay, changing into a minnow half way through the fall. He splashed into the water and was off, more than ready to spend some more quiet time in the clear water of Jump City Bay.

TT

Leave it to Beast Boy to even drain the comfort from meditation. Raven had to hand it to him; at least the boy was completely thorough in ruining her life.

"You're being unfair to him," Knowledge prodded, crossly and without looking up from her book.

"No, it _is_ unfair," Raven bit back, "that I can't sit down in my own mind anymore without being in a field of flowers. I want the Nevermore that I grew up in, not this fuzzy, Beast Boy infused monstrosity I've been forced into."

"That makes perfect sense," Knowledge said with a curt nod, and Raven looked to her expectantly. "Beast Boy has unknowingly splashed some life into your morbid mind, so _of course_ he deserves the silent treatment. And worse."

"That's not fair," Raven retorted tiredly. "Treating him this way is best for both of us in the long run."

"I'm sorry Raven, but you have yet to convince anyone of that. Honestly, you don't even believe it."

Raven closed her eyes and leaned back, blades of green grass tickling her face.

"I believe it," she said softly, as a feeble gust of wind rippled the field that she and Knowledge occupied. "I'm happy like this. Alone."

Knowledge shook her head and stared at Raven sadly.

"There's absolutely no reason to lie to _yourself_, Raven."

Raven's eyes opened tiredly.

"Why do you think I'm lying?"

Knowledge did not reply, but simply continued to look sadly at Raven as the wind picked up. Raven sat up as another figure slowly made its way through the grassy field towards them, donned in a dull pink leotard and matching cloak and boots. Immediately Raven knew what was about to transpire.

"Raven, you haven't spoken with Happy recently, have you?" Knowledge inquired lightly once Happy was near enough to be within earshot.

"It's been a while," Happy offered, her normally bright smile faltering as she plopped down on the grass near Knowledge.

"I just haven't been meditating enough," Raven offered apologetically. "I haven't been sleeping well and I've been neglecting my normal reading. If anything, that's why I'm unhappy."

"Again, why are you lying to yourself?" Knowledge inquired with a shake of her head. "Your unhappiness has nothing to do with meditation or books this time, Raven. It's because you've isolated yourself completely out of stubbornness."

"You should be with Beast Boy right now. Doesn't that sound fun?" Happy sighed wistfully. "You two could build pillow forts or make a campfire on a rock by the bay. And you could share secrets and he could tell those jokes you pretend to hate and everything would be wonderful."

"I'm sure that Beast Boy is busy with something," Raven brushed her off.

"Of course. Just like you've been so terribly busy this week," Knowledge said blandly.

She had a point, Raven realized. Since her fight with Beast Boy on her birthday, Raven hadn't done anything productive. No piece of literature seemed to hold her attention, and it seemed like she always ran into Beast Boy whenever she left her room, leaving Raven to sulk in her bedroom for the vast majority of the daytime, leaving only at night when Beast Boy was surely asleep. Alright, so she was bored to tears. That didn't mean that Beast Boy was too, though. For all she knew, he might be off in the city, maybe passing time in the arcade or at the park. He could even be fighting crime with the other Titans and she wouldn't know.

"Beast Boy isn't having any fun without you," Happy commented morosely, as if she had read Raven's thoughts.

"But he wouldn't have any fun with me either," Raven replied.

"Of course not, assuming you're intending to chew him out for caring about you until you two can get divorced," Knowledge added.

"Why can't you get along with Beast Boy?" Happy cried in distress, eyes misting up. "He's so cute and funny and he only wants to be your friend!"

"That isn't all he wants," Raven huffed.

"I think you'd be surprised," Knowledge offered. "You two have taken so many steps backward in your relationship recently that he would probably be ecstatic with friendship."

"I don't believe that," Raven shook her head.

Happy whimpered and started bawling. Raven looked to Knowledge in shock.

"What do you want from her?" Knowledge asked with a shrug, motioning towards Happy. "You're currently devoid of friends and powers, and it'll only get worse from here if you don't change your tune. Congratulations, you've made yourself as cheerless as humanly possible."

"He's so c-cute and nice and j-just wants to be your friend but you won't let him!" Happy stammered through her flowing tears.

Distressed, Raven stood up to take her leave, quickly passing by Knowledge and her sobbing emotion. She glanced back over her shoulder as she exited the field in favor of walking on the main dirt trail, and saw Knowledge place a consoling hand on Happy's shoulder as the weeping emotion hid her face in her hands, shoulders still heaving.

Raven's heart felt heavy as she walked, her mind quite troubled at seeing Happy break down. She had never witnessed anything like that before from her own emotions. She walked more quickly, combat boots scuffing on the dirt path. A shape leaning against a looming tree caught her eye as she scanned the bright area around her. Once she had travelled a little bit up the path, Raven turned to her right, where Brave was slumped against a tree's trunk, looking tired and hopeless. Her cloak was fanned out behind her, exposing her oddly emaciated, leotard-clad body. Brave looked positively withered, the gaunt skin of her face half shrouded by her drawn hood. The still emotion glanced up as Raven passed, and the vacant, accusing look in her sunken eyes haunted Raven for many hours, even after she had returned to her bedroom.

TT

Johnny Rancid grinned broadly in satisfaction as he stepped back to admire his work and wiped his greasy hands across his stained pants. His project was coming along very, very nicely. In fact, he was ahead of schedule. The towering steel figure, all twisted and sharp, glinted beautifully in the light that flooded in through the barred window of his workshop. After four solid days and nights of hard work and barely any sleep, his commissioned project was practically completed, and only required a few… special features.

The grey-skinned mechanical genius glanced about the spacious room and quickly spotted what he was looking for. Rancid lumbered across the worn concrete floor and carefully grabbed up a menacing contraption of metal, pipes and tubing. After casually checking it over, he gripped the head of the device, flicked off the safety and squeezed the trigger. A stream of fire immediately roared out of the flamethrower, filling the bunker with scorching heat for several seconds. Satisfied that his weapon was functioning properly and apparently unworried that he might have singed quite a bit of his workshop, Rancid returned with the weapon to his steel masterpiece, picking up a soldering gun while en route. He immediately went about installing the flamethrower in the belly of the huge animal, taking great care to secure it perfectly.

He definitely wasn't taking this project lightly, and with good reason. Assuming that everything went according to plan, this would be the very last weapon that he built to combat the sniveling Titans. It was to be his magnum opus, the contraption that would be lauded––or condemned, it didn't really matter to him––in the history books as a pivotal instrument of the Titans' demise. The arrival of justice was near, and soon, very soon, he and his partner would be the gods of the whole miserable city.

Rancid finished sealing the flamethrower into the machine and scrambled over to the small control box he had assembled. He depressed a red button on the device and his eyes glinted with joy as the machine shot fire from its gaping mouth, immediately charring a portion of the room's concrete ceiling. Heart racing, Rancid went about locating the secret weapon that his boss had specifically ordered him to include.

"Heh heh, found ya!" he exclaimed, picking up the small bit of metal and holding it aloft like a trophy. He could already taste victory. At this rate, the mechanical monster would be completed by the end of the day, leaving a good few days for trials and minor modifications. Rancid could barely contain himself. He had waited so long to see the Titans fall and couldn't believe that their demise was finally just around the corner.

TT

Newman leaned back from his worktable and wiped at his forehead, completely exhausted but unable to take a break. He was a bit behind schedule and could not afford to dally. How many days had he been like this, spending long hours in the laboratory with barely any reprieve? He was making progress in the task the villain had assigned him, but work was slow and frustrating. As he had told the villain, never before, to his knowledge, had someone attempted a project of this degree, much less executed it successfully.

This work would go much more quickly if Newman did not need to concern himself with the long-term impact of the serum he was creating, but because it was Beast Boy who would have to live with this affliction, it was mandatory that the inoculation carry as few side effects as possible. It was also crucial that the product could be later amended using an antidote without causing deadly trauma to Beast Boy. His product had to be absolutely perfect––just effective enough to satiate the villain, while susceptible to the prospect of alteration or replacement. That way his family would not be in danger and Beast Boy could later be cured. Very worrisome, however, was the possibility that before an antidote could be administered, the serum would have caused Beast Boy to fall into some irremediable fix. That thought never ceased to haunt Newman while he worked.

Apart from fear for his own safety and the safety of his family, although Newman was not entirely conscious of it himself, there was another reason that he didn't give himself a moment of rest. Every second that his mind wasn't filled with analysis of the functions and impacts of select ligands and neurotransmitters and whatnot, his mind would wander to the boy he was essentially aiding in murdering, and he could barely find the resolve to press on. Newman was not a bad man. That was why his project was tearing him apart.

TT

Beast Boy did not return to the Tower until late in the evening when the sun was beginning to set. The sky had severely clouded up around noon and the wind had picked up even more, chilling the air considerably. He was very sleepy as he dragged himself onto the island in his human form, such that he wanted nothing more than a hot drink, a snack and a long night of sleep. Mind fixed on those simple desires, Beast Boy staggered into the kitchen and didn't make note of Raven's presence there until he retreated from the cupboard with a bag of chips and sat down on the opposite side of the table from the empath.

He made a point of not greeting her or doing anything to make note of her short of making brief eye contact with the girl. Frankly he was positive that she would rise and leave momentarily anyway, if her behavior over the past few days was any gauge. That's why he was supremely surprised when Raven turned her focus back on her book, continued nursing the contents of her teacup and made no movement to leave the room. Curiosity filled Beast Boy, a reluctant flicker of hope striking him. He wouldn't say anything though, or she'd certainly grow annoyed and depart. It was sad that simply sharing a room was a massive accomplishment, but he wouldn't be the one to risk disrupting the delicate balance between them by speaking. And so he chewed his potato chips in silence, staring off into space and letting his mind wander to his warm bed.

"You look cold," Raven said lightly, pulling Beast Boy's attention to her immediately.

Beast Boy blinked in shock. Had Raven actually spoken to him? He was very tired, so perhaps he had imagined it. But no, she was looking at him now, expecting a reply. Beast Boy's heartbeat sped up as he searched for something innocuous to return.

"I am. I've been in the water all day," he said quietly.

"So I surmised," Raven replied. It wasn't until then that Beast Boy realized that his uniform was still drenched with water from the bay. Come to think of it, he was quite cold indeed. He ran a hand through his slightly dripping hair.

Raven licked her lips nervously, an act that Beast Boy picked up on but didn't dare call to attention. In fact, he deliberately turned his attention away from her, focusing instead on folding up the bag of chips he had been consuming. A few moments of thick silence settled over the room before Raven spoke again.

"Do you… want tea?" She offered hesitantly, making a little motion to the teacup beside her.

Frankly Raven could have offered him fried chicken and he would have gladly accepted. That's how stunned yet appreciative he was of her peaceable gesture.

"That'd be fantastic," he quickly returned, doing what he could to mask his astonishment.

"The kettle should still be pretty warm. I'd suggest chamomile, assuming you'd appreciate something without caffeine at this time of evening."

Beast Boy rose and prepared a cup of tea, feeling as though he was in a dream. Raven was being cordial, and that was the only thing he was currently capable of thinking about. He soon returned to the table with his cup of tea in hand. The warmed porcelain felt good through his cold, soaked gloves, and he wrapped his fingers around the cup. If he hadn't been petrified by the thought of making a single injudicious move, he certainly would have stripped off his uncomfortable gloves by now. The room was quiet as Beast Boy set in on consuming his beverage and he struggled to think of something completely harmless to say.

"So," he began uncertainly, "have you… been up to anything interesting recently?"

Raven shook her head slowly.

"Reading and cleaning mostly."

Beast Boy tried to swallow away the lump that formed in his throat.

"Which reminds me, I got the blankets you left in front of my door."

"I figured you would," Raven remarked impassively. A beat passed. "I was meditating for most of the day today," she offered, trying to redirect the subject. Besides, she didn't want to let Beast Boy in on how unproductive she had been lately.

"How's Nevermore?" Beast Boy asked. Raven faltered.

"Not so good," she admitted, "but about the same as last time I visited."

"Well, not much has changed since then," Beast Boy nodded. Raven didn't seem to be willing to elaborate without prodding. "So what's 'not so good' there?" he inquired.

Raven studied Beast Boy for a moment and he could see her laboring to determine how much she ought to tell him.

"I've never seen my emotions so distressed," she admitted at last. She felt a bit ashamed at revealing the truth, but it felt… oddly cathartic.

Beast Boy raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't know they could get distressed," he offered amicably.

"I was a little surprised too," she nodded sadly. "Happy was… devastated. And Brave looked completely depressed."

"That makes sense," Beast Boy said pensively, lazily twisting his spoon through his fingers. "Without your powers, you can't fight. There's no outlet for your bravery. And happiness… well, you're not happy, are you."

Raven studied the tabletop, agitated because of where her conversation with Beast Boy kept going. And yet… she owed it to him. She owed it to her emotions. The status quo hurt everyone too badly to maintain, and if this was the only way she could make a change, so be it. Four days of isolation and gloom had certainly taken a toll on her and given her ample time to consider its impact on the changeling as well. Everyone and everything seemed to agree: She wasn't being fair to her husband.

"So what are you going to do?" Beast Boy asked cautiously. Raven continued to look at the table, well aware that the ball had been thrown into her court. This is where she usually managed to go wrong and turned the conversation into a fight. But what could she do differently? Her instinct was to go on the offensive when her comfort and wellbeing were under attack, which usually meant yelling at Beast Boy. Since that had only brought her (and everyone else) misery of late, she clearly needed to alter her strategy. She couldn't help that her instincts were telling her that Beast Boy was the enemy. All she could do was suck it up, even at personal cost. Something had to give, and unfortunately it looked like she had to sacrifice her happiness. Azar, what better display of the marriage spirit was there?

"I think it's time I listened to someone other than myself," Raven tersely replied and glanced up at the changeling. She was wary and unhappy, but she tried not to let it show. It was no use voicing a conciliatory sentiment if her expression would only negate the effort. Beast Boy was obviously stunned by her words; he suddenly stopped playing with his spoon and didn't immediately reply.

Beast Boy could almost feel his heart skip a beat. It was against his better judgment that hope overwhelmed him. Could he be dreaming? Raven had just admitted her selfishness, even though she never, ever admitted to personal shortcomings. Was her conscience finally kicking in, then? If they were on better footing he might have snidely inquired, but he refrained out of his better judgment.

"Someone like me?" he asked hopefully. He blushed. He knew he was suddenly being immature, but he was just so… elated. Or perhaps elated was too unqualified a term for the occasion, but he was certainly blissfully surprised.

"I realize that I haven't been treating you fairly, Beast Boy," Raven replied seriously, not appearing even slightly as beatific as the changeling. "I still feel that I've been acting with our long-term best interests in mind," she hesitated for a moment then continued, "but it isn't fair to you if that means sacrificing your happiness."

Beast Boy looked dubious.

"Don't get me wrong, it's nice that you're thinking about my happiness, but… what about yours?" he asked. As an afterthought, he continued, "And please don't try to convince me again that it's impossible for us both to be happy."

"But what if that's true?" Raven asked somewhat gloomily.

"It's not," Beast Boy replied with conviction. "To say that would be like saying we've never both been happy at the same time, while we definitely have."

"Excluding when the Titans win a battle, tell me when we are ever happy at the same time," Raven challenged.

Beast Boy looked thoughtful for a minute, and Raven momentarily thought that she had stumped him. But then he looked up and spoke.

"It's over little things, I guess" he mused. "Like when Starfire tries to get Robin to eat some creepy crawly thing from Tamaran and it's funny, or when Cyborg makes lasagna on Tuesdays, or when that pizza joint gives us free pizza just because we're us."

"It's noteworthy that all those things are related to food, but go on," Raven interjected with a smirk.

"The point is," Beast Boy continued, "it's okay that we disagree on some stuff, even if some of that stuff is really big. The important thing is that we have a bunch of common interests, likes and dislikes, and stuff that makes us laugh. Our differences make us human, Raven, and even if there's a lot of 'em, that doesn't mean we're not cut out for each other. It just means we have to work harder than most people to get along."

"Unfortunately, getting along is not a strong point of either one of us," Raven replied.

Beast Boy looked at her skeptically.

"Hey, _I'm_ trying really hard to get along," he retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "You just mistake my attempts at friendship as… something perverted."

Raven pondered Beast Boy's statement seriously. All his determination to get her to open up, all those times he wouldn't leave her alone and ceaselessly wanted to talk about their relationship… she couldn't be flat wrong, could she? Her gut told her to feel uncomfortable because of his advances, and she had never been wrong at reading people before. Of course, before this situation she always had her empathic powers to rely on, which couldn't honestly be discounted. But if she _was_ mistaken then she had wronged him terribly. Raven's eyes widened, a sinking feeling hitting her stomach as she honestly considered for the first time that Beast Boy was telling the truth. The vague possibility alone that she had been wrong made her feel absolutely despicable.

"Beast Boy," she said soberly, looking at him squarely, "are you telling the truth?"

The changeling held up his hand.

"Scouts honor," he replied and looked at her expectantly. "I would never lie to you about this."

Raven swallowed. An invisible war was still raging that pitted her instinct to distrust Beast Boy with the virtue of his word. She didn't want to believe that she had been terribly in the wrong concerning Beast Boy's motive and intentions, but not to believe so would be to blatantly call him a liar. She knew him. He was a truly lousy liar, and if the earnestness of his visage was any sign, he wasn't lying now.

Shame and guilt began to overwhelm Raven, breaking over her like the first thunderclap of a dreadful storm. She had been considering him a lying monster for weeks now, and it had visibly been destroying him. If anything, she was the monster for inflicting so much on him without remorse. He had gone out on a limb to save her life, and this is how she repaid him. Words that she had spoken in anger over the last few weeks came back to her now, along with the crushed look on Beast Boy's face that she had taken as artful deception. And she had been so selfish, only brooding over how their marriage had hurt her instead of considering that Beast Boy was confused, lonely and hurting too. And yet he managed to be proactive in trying to pursue reconciliation, while all she had done was chase him away. So many fights, so much yelling. What had she done?

Raven didn't know what to do next. Could words express the shock and anguish she felt over what she had inflicted upon Beast Boy? She didn't know where to start in apologizing for her selfishness, such was her humiliation.

Beast Boy watched Raven as she sunk down in her chair, visibly vexed. She obviously felt overwhelming remorse for something, a fact that strangely thrilled him. It meant that Raven had finally seen him for what he really was. Only a perspective shift of that magnitude could explain Raven's sudden and highly uncharacteristic speechlessness. Then he noticed the tears gathering in her downcast eyes that silently began to streak down her colorless face.

"Raven," he exclaimed in astonishment, quickly standing up and moving to the other side of the table to be near her. He half helped her stand as he drew her into his arms, and she stiffly but willingly fell into his embrace. Beast Boy's arms crossed over her tightly and he stood, too shocked to utter words. For the longest time he simply stood in the silent kitchen, startled by Raven's breakdown and highly unusual realization and admittance of personal wrongs. Her warm body was stiff and still, except for when she shook with her silent sobbing. Her head rested against his shoulder, a fresh wet patch forming on his still-damp uniform as her tears collected there. He finally breathed out in speechlessness, allowing his eyes to close and his head to bow near her lilac-scented hair, unaware of how long they stood there. All he knew and cared about in that moment was that Raven understood him, at long last. She knew that he would not try to harm her and she trusted him. He couldn't and wouldn't ask for anything more. It was weird, but for the first time in a long time, he felt himself relax and experience contentment.

Eventually Raven's tears slowed and her shoulders stopped heaving with silent sobs, but even for a while after that she made no movement to pull away from Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy, I'm––" she finally began, voice slightly muffled against the changeling's shoulder, but he spoke over her.

"Rae, wait," he cut in, "let's just… forget about it."

Raven finally pulled away from him so that she could look him in the face, his arms still looped behind her. She looked at him skeptically.

"I owe you an apology," she replied incredulously, "and I can't recall ever having to apologize to you before. I find it just a bit unbelievable that you don't want to hear it."

Beast Boy grinned nervously.

"Well," he replied hesitantly, drawing Raven to him again and causing her eyes to widen in shock, "believe it, okay?"

With that, he kissed her. The touch was earnest but gentle, the suddenness of the gesture causing Raven to make a little noise of disbelief against his vaguely musky lips. She didn't pull away from Beast Boy though, and although she seized up in surprise, she returned the kiss with commensurate willingness. He kissed her again, tickled by the rapid puffs of air against his cheek as she breathed. And that feeling… oh gosh, that indescribable feeling of rightness that he had experienced the other two times they had kissed, that feeling was there again, a sensation of sheer fieriness and intimacy that he had never experienced before except for with her. It was beautiful and addicting, such that he couldn't believe he had gone so long without pursuing it again. One of his hands moved up to rest against the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair as his lips moved eagerly against hers in kiss after shallow kiss. Although he craved the long-forbidden sensations of touching her further, Beast Boy kept his other arm loosely slung against her back, determined to act with utmost gentleness and reservation for her benefit. He was incredibly attentive to her reactions to his ministrations, and at the first indication that she wished for their rare contact to cease, he broke away from her with a last chaste kiss.

The empath pulled away and tried to catch her breath. There was an unmistakable tremor in her hand as she reached to steady herself against the table, eyes not meeting his as she sunk into her chair again, her chest still heaving as she rapidly took in air.

"Let's call it square," he said after a beat, turning and sitting again because he didn't know what else to do.

"How can it be square," Raven lamented a bit hoarsely, looking at the table. "I was self-centered, only worried about how our marriage impacted me."

"Raven," Beast Boy said seriously, catching her gaze. "Let's just put it in the past."

Raven shook her head and looked at him strangely.

"If I was so mistaken for so long," she replied, "why are you willing to forgive me without even an apology?"

"Because, Raven, I… care about you," he faltered. "And, c'mon, I know you've been through a heck of a lot recently, and I'm just glad you aren't going to think of me as a jerk for two years."

"No, I'm not," Raven consented weakly. She reached for her teacup, hand still shaking. Her fingers gripped it tightly as she fought for composure.

She felt dizzy, confused and slightly nauseous. All of her resolve and self-respect had been founded on the principle that she had Beast Boy figured out. To discover that she had deluded herself so greatly was to have a rug yanked out from under her feet. There wasn't really a way to pick herself up again short from admitting that she had been flat wrong, which she had done. And then he had kissed her and she had tasted his relief. Raven was still devoid of her powers, but the changeling's kiss had undeniably reflected his unadulterated joy and contentment. There had been passion there too, ardor that left her heart fluttering and her mind dazed. It was as if he loved her, to be able to forgive her so readily. It was certainly beyond the calling of any mere human, at any rate.

"You don't look so good," Beast Boy remarked in concern, taking in Raven's still trembling form and almost frightening pallor. Raven's gaze moved up to his own once again.

"You could say I have a lot on my mind," she replied simply. "But we have a lot to discuss."

"It can wait for the morning," the changeling assured her understandingly. "We could both use a little time to adjust to things."

The empath nodded her agreement and stood unsteadily, using the table to support her. She felt weak with shock and hunger, and didn't particularly feel like talking much.

"Mind if I crash in your room?" Beast Boy inquired timidly, going out on one heck of a limb. He was unbearably tired of feeling lonely in his bedroom, staring at the piles of wedding gifts that represented Raven's rejection. Besides, his urge to be near his wife was overwhelming. He probably couldn't get enough of basking in their newfound reconciliation.

Raven's eyes snapped up again and she appeared to size him up seriously.

"I'll take the floor," Beast Boy offered diffidently with a shrug, reconsidering his brashness.

Raven bit her lip, another surge of regret rising in her throat. What kind of wife would make her husband sleep on the floor like a dog?

"No," she replied carefully, and Beast Boy looked at her with consternation. "I don't mind if you share my bed," she decided. "Just… keep your hands to yourself. And don't even think about getting bay water on my good sheets."

Beast Boy grinned, his eyes seeming to sparkle with a vitality that they had lacked for a long time.

"I'll shower first, I promise," he assured her gratefully, already on his way to the bathroom and eager to get out of the clammy clothes that reminded him of the past.

--

Finally, the tension is broken! Lots of good stuff to come, so stay tuned. And there will be more romance in the next bunch of chapters. You've been warned.

Leave a review and thank me if you're glad that Raven and Beast Boy made up, okay?

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Thanks so much for reading! You guys are awesome.


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